tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207Tue, 06 Mar 2018 10:07:04 +0000African American Civil War MuseumGrand ReviewCivil WarHarrisburgWatch NightWilliam Howard DayAfrican American Civil War MemorialMuseum supporters, tell us about your visit! Give your opinion! The African American Civil War Museum wants to you hear from you!http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)Blogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-650265739974137026Wed, 15 Apr 2015 16:02:00 +00002015-04-15T12:23:54.383-04:00Remembering Lincoln<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a 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" 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" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ford's Theater 1865</td></tr></tbody></table>On April 14, 1865, while attending the play <i>Our American Cousin, </i>at Ford's Theatre President Abraham Lincoln was shot. &nbsp;The Ford's Theater Society commemorated Lincoln's legacy with an all night vigil from the 14th through today April 15th, with &nbsp;a moment of silence at 7:22am the moment Lincoln was pronounced dead. &nbsp;The assasination occured five days after the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee, surrendered to Lt. Gen Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac at Appomatox Court House.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img 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" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scene of Lincoln's Funeral Procession.</td></tr></tbody></table><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><br /><i>Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. &nbsp;Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere."</i><br /><i>- Lincoln September 11, 1858</i><br /><i><br /></i>Lincoln's most noted speech is the Gettysburg Address, but his presidency is marked by many historic moments including signing the Emancipation Proclamation. &nbsp;His death deeply affected many Americans including the African American community, as he played a very important role in ending slavery in the United States. &nbsp;Just days after his death thousands of people could be seen waiting to pay their respects at his funeral. &nbsp;A <i>New York World </i>coorespondent wrote that the occasion was strange because it was a very significant parade but it was also very sad. &nbsp;The soldiers of the 22nd United States Colored Troops, a regiment from Pennsylvania, led Lincoln's funeral procession to the train that would take his body to Springfield, Illinois were he was buried.<br /><div style="text-align: right;"></div><br />The nation at large was in mourning, responses can be seen in communities around the country to Lincoln's death. &nbsp;The Ford's Theater Society has established a digital archive of responses to Lincoln's death, <a href="http://www.rememberinglincoln.fords.org/">www.rememberinglincoln.fords.org</a>. The African American Civil War Museum will post some responses to Lincoln's death, from the African American community on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-African-American-Civil-War-Memorial-and-Museum/164283553490" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page throughout the day on today April 15th. <br /><br />-Briana Welch, Eastern Senior High School<br /><br /><br />http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2015/04/remembering-lincoln.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-6561010627147877869Fri, 09 Jan 2015 18:06:00 +00002015-01-09T13:06:28.801-05:00African American Civil War MuseumCivil WarGrand ReviewThe Grand Review Coming Soon<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wpuFPTLAQQ0/VLAWEmp-NCI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/IHLebdApPUU/s1600/10609540_10152841292550348_5885507478659923691_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wpuFPTLAQQ0/VLAWEmp-NCI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/IHLebdApPUU/s1600/10609540_10152841292550348_5885507478659923691_n.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Army coming down Pennsylvania Ave</td></tr></tbody></table>The African American Civil War Museum is delighted to be a key organizer of a huge event taking place this upcoming spring 2015, marking the 150th anniversary of one of the most important parades in the nation's history. &nbsp;The Grand Review Parade will assemble 6 to 10,000 marchers and spectators in Washington, DC on Sunday, May 17, 2015. &nbsp;The event will commemorate the Grand Review of the Armies, which took place on May 23, 2015. &nbsp;The original event took place in a much smaller Washington, but its sense of healing and unity resonates powerfully in our own time. &nbsp;At the time the nation was still recovering not just from the Civil War itself, but from President Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theater the previous month.<br /><br />Lincoln's successor, President Andrew Johnson, made plans for a formal review of the Union troops in part to mark the end of the war and the Union victory, but also to try to lift the spirits of citizens in the capital and across the nation. &nbsp;On May 18, 1865 the army issued Special Order No. 239, calling for a Grand Review, a two day parade in Washington, DC of the main Union armies. &nbsp;In all, more than 150,000 soldiers would parade through the nation's capital, filing past the president and his cabinet, as well as Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant positioned on a special reviewing stand in front of the White House.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3GUNSXgOdU8/VLAWUVtOhbI/AAAAAAAAAKM/18dqmOE3PKQ/s1600/2)%2BGrand%2BReview%2BPresidential%2BReview%2BStand%2B(3000vpixels)%2BSharp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3GUNSXgOdU8/VLAWUVtOhbI/AAAAAAAAAKM/18dqmOE3PKQ/s1600/2)%2BGrand%2BReview%2BPresidential%2BReview%2BStand%2B(3000vpixels)%2BSharp.jpg" height="200" width="187" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Army filing past Presidential Review Stand, 1865</td></tr></tbody></table>At 9:00am on May 23, a signal gun fired a single shot and Major Gen. George Meade, the victor of Gettysburg, led an estimated 80,000 men of the Army of the Potomac down the streets of Washington past thousands in the crowds. &nbsp;On the following day at 10:00am, General William T. Sherman led the 65,000 men of the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of Georgia past the admiring crowds and celebrities, most of whom had never seen him before. &nbsp;Within a week of the celebrations, the two armies were disbanded and many of the volunteer regiments and batteries were sent home to be mustered out of the army.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EEz-rMF4MZc/VLAWMpqeOhI/AAAAAAAAAKE/JzyGudRORNk/s1600/3)%2BGrand%2BReview%2BSpectators%2B2%2B(3000).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EEz-rMF4MZc/VLAWMpqeOhI/AAAAAAAAAKE/JzyGudRORNk/s1600/3)%2BGrand%2BReview%2BSpectators%2B2%2B(3000).jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Army filing past crowd&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table>This parade is the culmination of a weekend of events to commemorate the end of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. &nbsp;The original Grand Review Parade held in May, 1865, marked the end of the war and the dismissal of many of the troops. &nbsp;No African American regiments were allowed to march in 1865 but the 2015 march will correct a great wrong in history as the USCT, Volunteer and Regular Union Regiments will march down Pennsylvania Ave together. &nbsp;We invite you to participate in this Sesquicentennial Commemoration and celebrate our event theme a "New Birth of Freedom and Union," inspired by one of President Abraham Lincoln's most noted speeches <i>The Gettysburg Address. &nbsp;</i>To learn more about the Grand Review Weekend please visit the event website <a href="http://www.grandreviewparade.org/">www.grandreviewparade.org</a>. &nbsp;Hope to see you there.<br /><br />How do you plan to commemorate the closing days of the Civil War?<br /><br />Briana Welch, Eastern Senior High Schoolhttp://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-grand-review-coming-soon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-3681984552440769214Wed, 05 Nov 2014 19:25:00 +00002014-11-05T14:26:12.362-05:00Emancipation in Maryland<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">&nbsp; &nbsp;This past November 1<sup>st</sup>marks the 150<sup>th</sup> year of Maryland’s Emancipation. November 1<sup>st</sup>, 1864 is the day that Maryland freed its people from slavery within its boundaries. This was done by the creation of a new state constitution. In the summer of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln first put forward the idea of the Emancipation Proclamation, which would abolish (put an end to) slavery. This changed the focus of the war completely. According to an article written on facts about the Emancipation proclamation, “up until September, 1862, the main focus of the war had been to preserve the union. With the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, freedom for slaves now became a legitimate war aim.” Maryland was the first slave state that voluntarily freed its enslaved people. Every November 1<sup>st</sup>, there are events scheduled for Maryland’s celebration. Montgomery Park celebrates with a series of adventures such as, Underground Railroad hikes, log cabin tours and tours at museums dedicated to slavery’s legacy. Another great place to celebrate Maryland’s abolishment of slavery is Tolson’s Chapel. Like Montgomery Park, Tolson’s Chapel has a few great activities to part take in every year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">&nbsp; Although the Emancipation proclamation abolished slavery, it only applied to southern states in the rebellion.&nbsp; It did not apply to slave holding boarder states that were already under the control of the union. These states included Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri. If these states wanted to abolish slavery, they had to do it on their own. The 13<sup>th</sup>Amendment, the Amendment that abolished slavery was not passed by congress until January 31<sup>st</sup>, 1865. The Amendment was then ratified on December 6<sup>th</sup>, 1865.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;- &nbsp;Briana Welch</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Eastern Senior High School</div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">&nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2014/11/emancipation-in-maryland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-1596958821917960721Tue, 04 Feb 2014 15:51:00 +00002015-01-05T21:11:32.532-05:00"Rally on the High Ground"--Repairing the African American Civil War Memorial<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span id="goog_269858856"></span><span id="goog_269858857"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It has been many years since the sound of a gun was heard on U Street. The anomalous incident that occurred in late December luckily did not result in bodily harm. Unfortunately, the gunshots managed to damage one of the most important national landmarks—the Wall of Honor at the African-American Civil War Memorial, which remains the only memorial dedicated to honoring the 209, 145 men of the United States Colored Troops who bravely answered the call of their country during the Civil War. The community remains confident in the safety of their neighborhood, and is now turning its attention to the needs of the memorial. The museum is proud to announce the start of "Rally on the High Ground", a fundraising effort to help pay for the repairs. Aside from the damage caused to the names of Adolph Ebermayer and Henry Foster, there are other issues at the memorial that need repair. Among the items on the agenda are repair of damage done by skateboarders, installation of anti-skating devices, repairs and replacements of lighting, installation of graphics and flag poles, and renewal of landscaping surrounding the memorial. </span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To understand the importance of the memorial, you must first know the story of the men whose names are inscribed. The passing of the Militia Act of 1862 is one of the most overlooked moments in history. When compared to the 13<sup>th</sup>, 14<sup>th</sup>and 15<sup>th</sup> amendments or the Civil Rights laws that were passed a century after the war’s end, the Militia Act could seem irrelevant. Its consequences, however, changed the course of American history by not only allowing but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">asking</i> “men of African descent”—specifying one of the most oppressed and mistreated groups in our nation’s history—to join the military, to fight for their freedom, and to help reunite the war-torn country. African-Americans were dramatically overrepresented in the military, and played an incomparable and decisive role in the war. The passage of the Emancipation Proclamation six months after the Militia Act allowed even more men of African descent to bravely stand up and fight to defend a country that would continue to deny their rights for more than a century after the war’s end. 25 soldiers of African descent earned the Medal of Honor, and President Lincoln acknowledged their contributions as vital to the Union’s victory over the Confederacy. </span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The importance of Washington, D.C. in this story stems from more than just its status as the nation’s capital. U Street became a vibrant cultural center for the African American community in the century following the war. Dubbed “Black Broadway”, the area attracted some of the greatest minds of the time, including Langston Hughes and Duke Ellington. The neighborhood suffered immensely in 1968 with the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., which simply added to already roiling racial tensions, and the violent riots which followed. </span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;">With the efforts of the African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation, a statue entitled The Spirit of Freedom, surrounded by the Wall of Honor that displays plaques with the 209, 145 names of the United States Colored Troops, was installed at U Street. The placement of the memorial in the long-time center of African-American culture reminded everyone of the community’s past glory and the heritage of its residents, helping to revitalize the area. The memorial honors those who answered their country’s cry for help. It honors those who not only fought for their own freedom, but for the reunion, peace and prosperity of a country that had denied them their basic human rights. It honors the families and descendants of these soldiers and sailors who are here only because of the brave sacrifices of these men. It honors those who continued to fight for equality, marching for Civil Rights much like their ancestors marched across battlefields. But most importantly, it honors America, and the men that allowed it to become the country it is today.</span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The importance of this memorial cannot be overstated. These men remained unnamed and unrecognized for far too long, and their bravery deserves a memorial that accurately honors the devotion they showed to their country. Please join the "Rally on the High Ground" and answer this call for help, just as these men did a century ago. Any contribution you can make to help restore the memorial to its intended state will be acknowledged and greatly appreciated.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Times, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">Persons interested in making a tax deductible donation to "Rally on the High Ground" may do so by making checks payable to the African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation (please include memorial repairs in memo section) and address them to </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">African American Civil War Museum</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Times, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">1925 Vermont Ave NW, </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Times, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">Washington, D.C., 20001&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Times, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">or they may donate online by going to <a href="http://www.afroamcivilwar.org/">www.afroamcivilwar.org</a>.</span></span>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2014/02/rally-on-high-ground-repairing-african.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-4384225681977109873Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:04:00 +00002012-11-23T07:06:45.545-05:00The “Interpretive Choice” in Spielberg’s Lincoln<br /><br /><br />In the President’s annual message to Congress on December 1, 1862, Abraham Lincoln proposed&nbsp;a 13th amendment to the Constitution that would abolish slavery. Lincoln said, “The proposed&nbsp;emancipation would shorten the war, perpetuate peace, insure this increase in population, and&nbsp;proportionately the wealth of the country.” Though Lincoln’s “personal wish [was] that all&nbsp;men everywhere could be free,” his commitment to emancipation has been questioned by many&nbsp;contemporary scholars. In Steven Spielberg’s <i>Lincoln</i>, his commitment is clarified.<br /><br />Spielberg’s <i>Lincoln</i> is an outstanding exploration into how the 13th Amendment got passed in the&nbsp;House of Representatives. The movie followed the historical script so well that it was almost&nbsp;boring. There were moments when my head nodded, and it was not because I was nodding in&nbsp;agreement. (I went to the 11:00 PM show.) The movie had a documentary quality to it that was&nbsp;complimented by excellent acting. The more familiar one is with the Congressional Globe and&nbsp;Lincoln’s papers, both accessible at Library of Congress websites, the more impressed one is&nbsp;with the historical accuracy of the film. However, if one seeks a certain interpretation of history,&nbsp;the film might be a disappointment.<br /><br />On Sunday morning, a friend sent me a review of Spielberg’s <i>Lincoln </i>from the New York Times&nbsp;written by Kate Masur a professor of history at Northwestern University. Masur wrote, “It is&nbsp;a well known pastime of historians to quibble with Hollywood over details. Here, however,&nbsp;the issue is not factual accuracy but <i>interpretive choice</i> [emphasis added]. A stronger African-&nbsp;American presence, even at the margins of Mr. Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ would have suggested&nbsp;that another dynamic of emancipation was occurring just outside the frame — a world of black&nbsp;political debate, of civic engagement and of monumental effort for the liberation of body and&nbsp;spirit.” Masur’s <i>interpretive choice </i>would have added affirmative action fiction to Spielberg’s&nbsp;Lincoln.<br /><br />Professor Masur’s recommendation that Frederick Douglass be portrayed in the movie is an&nbsp;<i>interpretive choice </i>that would have made the movie less factual. The focus of the movie was&nbsp;on the passage of the 13th Amendment. Douglass did not have a role in getting the amendment&nbsp;passed in January 1865. His monthly had even ceased publication by then. The professor’s&nbsp;review was essentially an admonishment to Hollywood to do what <i>Glory</i> did and make history&nbsp;fiction in order to get the token Negro in the inner circle of the film’s main character. And, of&nbsp;course, when it comes to contemporary Civil War scholarship at our finest institutions, Frederick&nbsp;Douglass is the affirmative action inner circle Negro. Fortunately, Spielberg did not lend his&nbsp;talents to such fiction.<br /><br />As it pertains to African Americans, Spielberg’s interpretive choice to include their role as&nbsp;soldiers is noteworthy because Lincoln truly valued their military contributions. With this&nbsp;choice, Spielberg chose to stay on topic and not venture to the margins in order to squeeze a&nbsp;selected African American into the frame. When the Confederate peace commission came&nbsp;through City Point, Virginia, in early 1865, thousands of African American soldiers were&nbsp;positioned in and around that Union stronghold. Therefore, the scene when the Confederate&nbsp;officials came face to face with African descent soldiers resonates with significant historical&nbsp;accuracy. Spielberg’s <i>interpretive choice </i>to note the military contributions of African&nbsp;Americans rather than to find a way to include an African American editor at <i>the margins</i> should&nbsp;be applauded not censured by those who seek to include the role of the enslaved in the “dynamic&nbsp;of emancipation” that was occurring <i>inside the frame</i>.<br /><br />As for the overall historical accuracy as it relates to African descent soldiers, I have one minor&nbsp;criticism of the movie. Two African American soldiers are speaking to President Lincoln in the&nbsp;second scene. One shares his personal story in a Kansas regiment before being transferred to the&nbsp;East in a Kentucky regiment. The other a corporal from a Massachusetts regiment complains&nbsp;about there not being any African American commissioned officers. Though many popular&nbsp;scholars make that claim, it is simply not accurate. At the moment in history the scene depicts,&nbsp;there were over 100 African American commissioned officers who had served in the Union&nbsp;Army. Indeed, out in Kansas in late 1864, the Independent Battery United States Colored Light&nbsp;Artillery had been mustered into the Union Army commanded by an African American officer,&nbsp;Captain Hezekiah Ford Douglas. All the commissioned officers in the battery were African&nbsp;Americans. African American commissioned officers were also serving in a Massachusetts&nbsp;regiment.<br /><br />The movie covers a time span from the fall of 1864 to April 1865. Therefore, there was an&nbsp;opportunity to report historically accurate events concerning Lincoln personally commissioning&nbsp;African American officers. Lincoln commissioned Alexander Augusta as a captain in October&nbsp;1862, and Augusta was a Lieutenant Colonel (Brevet) as a surgeon with the 7th United States&nbsp;Colored Infantry in April 1865. Martin Delany met with Lincoln in the White House a couple&nbsp;of weeks after the President signed the 13th Amendment, and Lincoln commissioned Delany a&nbsp;major that February. The corporal’s fictitious complaint in the second scene was not consistent&nbsp;with the historical fact that Lincoln personally commissioned African American officers.<br /><br />Because of the movie’s primary focus, I do not find fault in Spielberg’s Lincoln for not&nbsp;mentioning Lt. Colonel Augusta or Major Delany even though they could have been easily&nbsp;put in the frame where soldiers appeared not simply “at the margins” where Masur wanted her&nbsp;editor. Lincoln personally commissioned the highest ranking African American officer in the&nbsp;Civil War, Lt. Colonel Augusta, who treated wounded soldiers on battlefields Lincoln visited&nbsp;near Petersburg. Lincoln personally commissioned the only African descent officer to command&nbsp;his own regiment. Major Delany was the commander of 104th United States Colored Infantry in&nbsp;April 1865.<br /><br />With that said, I consider my historical criticism extremely minor given the focus of the&nbsp;movie; and I highly recommend the movie to students of the Civil War. After you watch the&nbsp;film, I also recommend you compare the Congressional debates in the movie to the records of&nbsp;the Congressional debates that you can access online at the Library of Congress website “A&nbsp;Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation.” I also recommend a visit to the Library Congress&nbsp;website hosting the “Abraham Lincoln Papers.” (See below for the links.) Query keywords&nbsp;such as emancipation, 13th Amendment, African, colored soldiers and freedom. Read and&nbsp;enjoy the primary sources that will give you a more expansive&nbsp;<i>interpretive choice</i> and help you&nbsp;understand the intelligent choices of Lincoln and Spielberg. I am certain after reviewing these&nbsp;primary sources you will have a greater appreciation for the historical accuracy of Spielberg’s&nbsp;Lincoln. The film is almost a documentary, and far more historically accurate than 50% of the&nbsp;documentary films I have seen on the Civil War.<br /><br />As for Masur’s criticism of the film, she admits that it is not historically based. Her criticism is&nbsp;simply a question of <i>interpretive choice</i>, which actually means the historical fiction she prefers&nbsp;for the sake of inclusiveness “even at the margins,” and Douglass is her recommended Negro “at&nbsp;the margins.” Douglass was an advisor to Lincoln many such scholars argue. Yet, to be fair to&nbsp;Masur, she only said he attended the inaugural ball in March 1865. Though many scholars assert&nbsp;that Douglass was <i>the leader </i>of the African American community during the war, he was not.&nbsp;Douglass was the editor of a journal read by more European Americans than African Americans.&nbsp;The young African Americans who fought in the Civil War were more likely to read the journal&nbsp;edited by Robert Hamilton, the <i>Anglo-African</i>, than they were to read the <i>Douglass’</i> <i>Monthly</i>.<br /><br />Masur’s <i>interpretive choice </i>would have placed Douglass in the movie because she does not&nbsp;know who else to put in the frame. I would love to know the professor’s opinion on the movie&nbsp;<i>Glory</i>, a grossly historically inaccurate film. My guess is that she probably compliments&nbsp;the director’s <i>interpretive choice</i> because Douglass was included in that film. He attended a&nbsp;fictitious party at the fictitious Shaw mansion in Boston and was engaged in a fictitious inner&nbsp;circle conversation with Robert Gould Shaw about fighting to free the Negroes. Such fiction&nbsp;is justified because it reveals “a world of black political debate, of civic engagement and of&nbsp;monumental effort for the liberation of body and spirit,” suggesting, of course, that we must&nbsp;make up such stories.<br /><br />Masur’s criticism of Spielberg’s <i>Lincoln</i> demonstrates a propensity common among many&nbsp;contemporary scholars who seek to provide a view of history (an interpretive choice) that is in&nbsp;fact tokenism. Simply stated if they do not know the Negro who really did something related to&nbsp;the subject matter, they put the most famous Negro of the time, their super Negro, in the story&nbsp;simply to have a Negro in the inner circle. Among contemporary scholars, Frederick Douglass&nbsp;is the affirmative action Negro of the Civil War. I wonder if he would be fond of that dubiously&nbsp;esteemed position.<br /><br />A Century of Lawmaking: <a href="http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/">http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/</a><br /><br />Abraham Lincoln Papers: <a href="http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/malhome.html.">http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/malhome.html.</a>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-interpretive-choice-in-spielbergs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-4562120428159831260Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:49:00 +00002012-10-07T14:02:37.966-04:00African American Civil War MuseumWatch NightWhat Were They Watching for on Watch Night?<br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><h2><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>What Were They Watching for on Watch Night?</b></span></h2></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v63hdWllR4Q/UHHDMalLHsI/AAAAAAAAAGM/XZ_jTHUdJ1A/s1600/Watch+Night+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v63hdWllR4Q/UHHDMalLHsI/AAAAAAAAAGM/XZ_jTHUdJ1A/s320/Watch+Night+image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">With great expectations, African Americans looked to January 1, 1863, as the day of jubilee.&nbsp; They congregated in churches and around “praying trees” in secret locations across the country on the evening of December 31, 1862, to “watch” for the <i>coming</i> of the Emancipation Proclamation; thus, the tradition of “watch night” was born.<b> &nbsp;</b>“It is a day for poetry and song, a new song,” wrote Frederick Douglass.&nbsp; “These cloudless skies, this balmy air, this brilliant sunshine, (making December as pleasant as May), are in harmony with the glorious morning of liberty about to dawn up on us.”&nbsp; President Lincoln had promised a proclamation emancipating slaves in the states in rebellion 99 days earlier; and on “watch night,” Americans of African descent faithfully “watched” for his proclamation to be issued on the 100<sup>th</sup> day.&nbsp; In Boston, Douglass reported that “a line of messengers was established between the telegraph office and the platform at Tremont Temple.”&nbsp; When what Douglass called the “trump of jubilee” was heard, “joy and gladness exhausted all forms of expression, from shouts of praise to sobs and tears.”</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;">In Washington, Reverend Henry M. Turner, pastor of Israel Bethel AME Church</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;"> located on Capitol Hill, wrote that it was in the churches of the District</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> of Columbia where “expressions of sentiments” for the Emancipation Proclamation could be heard.&nbsp;&nbsp; “Watching” for the issuing of the final Emancipation Proclamation was not simply “watching” for emancipation.&nbsp; African Americans were “watching” for the opportunity to fight for freedom.&nbsp; The enslaved in the District had already been emancipated, but they prayed for the freedom of all.&nbsp; Indeed, they were willing to fight for the freedom of all.&nbsp; “Several colored men in this city,” wrote Reverend Turner, “say they are now ready for the battlefield.&nbsp; Abraham Lincoln can get anything he wants from the colored people here from a company to a corps.&nbsp; I would not be surprised to see myself carrying a musket before long.”&nbsp; Later that year, Turner would recruit hundreds of men and become a chaplain in the Union Army.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It is important that we in the 21<sup>st</sup> century understand that the Emancipation Proclamation did not simply free the slaves.&nbsp; It declared free slaves in the states in rebellion.&nbsp; It was in Lincoln’s words “a fit and necessary war measure” for preserving the Union.&nbsp; Lincoln wrote in the Proclamation that it “was warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity.”&nbsp; The military necessity that led to the Emancipation Proclamation meant that the help of African Americans was needed to save the Union.&nbsp; Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, declared in January 1863 that the “proclamation is also an authentic statement by the Government of the United States of its inability to subjugate the South by force of arms.”&nbsp; In the 19<sup>th</sup>century African Americans, the leadership of the Confederacy, and the leadership of the Federal government understood that the Emancipation Proclamation was a military necessity that explicitly called on the help of African Americans. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Unequivocally, Lincoln believed that African descent soldiers were critical to Union success.&nbsp; The </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;">President wrote to General Ulysses S. Grant in August 1863 stating that he believed African descent soldiers were “</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;">a resource which if vigourously [sic] applied now, will soon close the contest.”&nbsp; Grant replied stating that he shared the President’s belief declaring that “by arming the negro, we have added a powerful ally.” &nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In response to a supporter who opposed emancipation and the use of African descent soldiers, Lincoln wrote, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;">“I know, as fully as one can know the opinions of others that some of the commanders of our armies in the field, who have given us our most important successes, believe the emancipation policy, and the use of colored troops, constitute the heaviest blow yet dealt to the rebellion; and that at least one of those important successes could not have been achieved when it was, but for the aid of black soldiers.&nbsp; Among the commanders holding these views are some who have never had any affinity with what is called abolitionism, or with Republican party politics, but who hold them purely as military opinion.”&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;">Therefore, when we celebrate and commemorate “watch night” and the 150<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation, we should appreciate the importance of African Americans in saving the Union and freeing themselves.&nbsp; Such an appreciation is to understand the practical significance of the Proclamation as the people who made the history understood it.&nbsp; We are commemorating the “watching for” the hour that the government’s policy aligned with prayers of liberation and celebrating African descent patriots being armed with the Emancipation Proclamation.&nbsp; As we gather in churches, synagogues, and mosques in prayer across the country on “watch night;” we should appreciate that with faith and courage on December 31, 1862, Americans of African descent were “watching for” the opportunity to secure “the blessings of&nbsp; liberty for themselves and their posterity” under the banner of the U. S. Constitution.&nbsp; With the support of the Federal government, they were deployed as enforcers of the Emancipation Proclamation.&nbsp; Indeed, January 1, 1863 was a day of Jubilee not because the slaves were set free but because the enslaved were called upon to save the Union and armed accordingly with the legal authority to set themselves free.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2012/10/what-were-they-watching-for-on-watch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-2154451361275731400Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:10:00 +00002015-01-05T20:27:57.900-05:00Juneteenth, A Flag day Celebration<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hari Jones, Curator</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">African American Civil War Museum&nbsp;</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Juneteenth, a Flag Day Celebration</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Juneteenth commemorates the news on June 19, 1865, that slaves in Texas were free. The general order, read on the steps of Ashton Villa at 2328 Broadway in Galveston, came almost three years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22,&nbsp;1862.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Houston Chronicle<i> Friday, June 15, 2012</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I like that Juneteenth falls near Flag Day for Juneteenth is truly a patriotic day if it is celebrated for the historically correct reason.&nbsp; If you are celebrating Juneteenth because you believe that <i>the news </i>of the Emancipation Proclamation did not get to Texas until June 19, 1865, you have been co-opted by the wrong reason.&nbsp; A close examination of historical events in Texas with particular attention given to the voices of African Americans who lived in Texas during the Civil War is required to get to the historical roots of the celebration.&nbsp; Such an examination of facts demonstrates that <i>the news</i>of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was certainly in Texas in 1862, that <i>the news</i> of the final Emancipation was certainly in Texas in 1863 and that Juneteenth is worth celebrating for a more uplifting and patriotic reason. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In Texas, one of the earliest Union bombardments was the bombardment of Galveston in September 1861, the first year of the war. (<i>Harper’s Weekly</i>, September 7, 1862, “Bombardment of Galveston”)&nbsp; At eighty six years old Jacob Branch remembered the bombardment, “One morning Eleck and I git up at crack of dawn to milk.&nbsp; All at once come a shock what shook the earth.&nbsp; De big fish jump clean out de bay and turtles and alligators run out deir ponds.&nbsp; Dey plumb ruint Galveston!&nbsp; Us runned to de house and all de dishes and things done jump out de shelf.&nbsp; Dat de first bombardment of Galveston.”&nbsp; (“Jacob Branch”, <i>Voices From Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives</i>, edited by Norman R. Yetman, page 41) Early in the war, African Americans in Texas like Jacob Branch felt the effects of the War of the Rebellion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KfKz7_9ktT4/T-ClWYSb75I/AAAAAAAAAFE/pIX2Fn8BRFM/s1600/map+southeastern+texas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KfKz7_9ktT4/T-ClWYSb75I/AAAAAAAAAFE/pIX2Fn8BRFM/s400/map+southeastern+texas.jpg" height="396" width="400" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to the 1860 U. S. Census, Galveston was the largest city in Texas with a population of 7,207 of which 1,200 were enslaved. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Residents of African descent in Galveston were introduced to Union forces in person a year after the first bombardment.&nbsp; <span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Commander Jonathan M. Wainwright, commanding the Navy gunboat<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span><i>Harriet Lane</i>, took possession of the largest city in Texas and raised the Stars and Stripes over the old U.S. Customs House on October 4, 1862</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. &nbsp;Three companies of the 42<sup>nd&nbsp;</sup><o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Massachusetts Infantry arrived there on December 25, 1862 (</span><i style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion</span></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">&nbsp;compiled by Frederick Dyer, page 792).</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tqRiY7OA8DA/T-CltnMP9vI/AAAAAAAAAFM/y07y4QAC3Kc/s1600/Notice_in_Galveston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tqRiY7OA8DA/T-CltnMP9vI/AAAAAAAAAFM/y07y4QAC3Kc/s320/Notice_in_Galveston.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation had been issued three months earlier on September 22, 1862. In this proclamation, Abraham Lincoln warned the Rebel states that he would declare free their slaves if they did not cease their rebellion by January 1, 1863.&nbsp; There was great anticipation of Lincoln’s final Emancipation Proclamation wherever the Union held territory in the Rebel states.&nbsp; Though the enslaved eagerly waited for the Day of Jubilee, an impending Rebel attack led by Confederate General John McGruder tempered the anticipation of those around Galveston.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vEaWJ6ww8Co/T-CmH83HDDI/AAAAAAAAAFg/xF8kjkRTmH8/s1600/galveston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vEaWJ6ww8Co/T-CmH83HDDI/AAAAAAAAAFg/xF8kjkRTmH8/s400/galveston.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></span></a></div><h2 style="background-color: #e3dac4; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:467.25pt;height:310.5pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Desk2\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004.jpg" o:title="galveston"/></v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->&nbsp;</span><span class="fix-heading-12"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt;">REBEL ATTACK UPON THE FORTY-[SECOND] MASSACHUSETTS&nbsp;</span></span><span class="fix-heading-12" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt;">VOLUNTEERS AT GALVESTON, TEXAS</span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12pt;">—SKETCHED BY OUR SPECIAL ARTIST.</span></span></h2><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the early morning of January 1, 1863, the day the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, Rebel forces under McGruder recaptured Galveston.&nbsp; Disappointed by the Union’s departure, enslaved freedom seekers in the Houston and Galveston area sought other means of emancipation.&nbsp; Jacob Branch reported, “After the war starts lots of slaves runned off to join the Yankees.&nbsp; All dem in dis part heads for the Rio Grande river.&nbsp; De Mexicans rig up flatboats out in the middle of de river, tied to stakes with rope.&nbsp; When the cullud [African descent] people gets to de rope de can pull deyself ‘cross de rest of de way on dem boats.&nbsp; De white folks rode de ‘Merican [American] side dat river all de time, but plenty slaves git through anyway”&nbsp; (“Jacob Branch”, Yetman page 41). &nbsp;Accordingly after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued and Galveston was recaptured, enslaved persons in Texas emancipated themselves by escaping and joining the Yankees.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-twWP9S3iWLk/T-Cl3wUCWbI/AAAAAAAAAFY/tPn0jyVAX9s/s1600/battle-of-galveston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-twWP9S3iWLk/T-Cl3wUCWbI/AAAAAAAAAFY/tPn0jyVAX9s/s400/battle-of-galveston.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: #f0e0c4; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: center;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:467.25pt;height:308.25pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Desk2\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.jpg" o:title="battle-of-galveston"/></v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt;">&nbsp;Harriet Lane.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rebel Gun-boats.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Owasco.</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Westfield being blown up.</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Mary Boardman.</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><h2 style="background-color: #f0e0c4; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><span class="fix-heading-12"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt;">ATTACK OF THE REBELS UPON OUR GUN-BOAT FLOTILLA AT</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt;">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="fix-heading-12"><span style="font-family: &quot;Garamond&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/january/galveston-texas.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">GALVESTON, TEXAS</span></a>, JANUARY 1, 1863.—SKETCHED BY OUR SPECIAL ARTIST</span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h2><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In early 1863, Union military strategy demanded that efforts be focused on the control of the Mississippi River and therefore the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi.&nbsp; Three months after the Union captured Vicksburg and seven months after the Rebels had recaptured Galveston, the Union turned its attention back to Texas capturing the Gulf Coast of Texas from Brownsville to Indianola in the fall of 1863.&nbsp; (</span><i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Harper’s Weekly</span></i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">, November 28, 1863, “The Texas Expedition”, </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">December 12, 1863, “The Texas Campaign” and January 16, 1864, “Texas”)</span>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Henry Lewis an enslaved person residing near Liberty reported that he heard Union guns near the Sabine Pass.&nbsp; The 1<sup>st</sup>Corps d’Afrique (later redesignated the 95<sup>th</sup> USCT) participated in the Sabine Pass Expedition in September 1863. (</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: EN-US;">Dyer, page 2117)&nbsp; </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Five African American regiments joined General Nathaniel Banks on his Texas Expedition in the fall of 1863. (</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: EN-US;">Dyer, pages 2117 -2121) </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">&nbsp;By late November 1863, the Union Army with African descent soldiers brought <i>the news</i> of the Emancipation Proclamation to Texas long before June19, 1865.&nbsp; Enslaved persons certainly knew about their declared emancipation before their proclamation <i>was enforced</i> in June.&nbsp; Lewis reported, “When de War come on I seed soldiers every day.&nbsp; Dey have de camp in Liberty and I watches dem.&nbsp; I heard the guns, too, maybe at Sabine Pass, but I didn’t see no actual fightin’.&nbsp;&nbsp; Dey sent the papers down on March fifth, I done heard, but dey didn’t turn us loose den. &nbsp;Dis is the last state to turn the slaves free.&nbsp; When dey didn’t let dem go in March, de Yankee soldiers come in June and make dem let us go.” (“Henry Lewis”, <i>Voices From Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives</i>, edited by Norman R. Yetman, page 206)&nbsp; The story of the Yankee soldiers of African and European descent “making” slaveholders free their slaves is the story of Juneteenth that is worth celebrating.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On April 3, 1865, the 25<sup>th</sup> Army Corps comprised of exclusively United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiments, captured Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy.&nbsp;&nbsp; After the capture of the Rebel capital, the Army of Northern Virginia was is full retreat.&nbsp; In the early morning of April 9, 1865, a brigade of African descent soldiers of the 25<sup>th</sup> Army Corps led by the 41<sup>st</sup> USCT skirmished with General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia south and west of a small Virginia town called Appomattox Court House.&nbsp; After a five-hour skirmish, Lee decided he could no longer continue to prosecute the war. &nbsp;Later that day he surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia because that is where Union soldiers of African descent stopped his army.&nbsp; Thirteen USCT regiments witnessed Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865.&nbsp; The war was over in the minds of most soldiers, but most of the Rebel states did not surrender immediately; therefore, the Emancipation Proclamation still had to be enforced.&nbsp; By the end of May 1865 all but one had surrendered.&nbsp; The Confederate government in Texas still refused to submit to Federal authority.&nbsp; The Rebel governor Pendleton Murrah hoped to make Texas the seat of the new Confederacy, but the Lone Star State had become the priority of Union efforts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From November 1863 to May 1865, seven United States Colored Troops regiments were among the Union troops on occupation duty along the Gulf Coast of Texas.&nbsp; The occupation troops in Texas needed reinforcements in order to completely suppress the rebellion there.&nbsp; On May 22, 1865, the then famed 25<sup>th</sup> Army Corps received embarkation orders.&nbsp; Thomas Morris Chester, an African American war correspondent, wrote:&nbsp; “That the negro corps, under General Weitzel, has received marching orders is well known throughout their camps, and they are beginning to put on the war-paint with the impression that they are going to Texas.&nbsp; They look forward to the period of embarkation with a great deal of satisfaction.”&nbsp;&nbsp; (</span><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thomas Morris Chester, Black Correspondent: His Dispatches from the Virginia Front</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> edited by R.J.M. Blackett, page 353)</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">&nbsp;By June 13, 1865, nine regiments of this famed “Negro Corps” that had captured Richmond were in Texas.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unable to repulse the Union Army comprised of mostly African descent soldiers, Governor Murrah along with his two top generals, McGruder and Smith, accompanied by 10,000 Rebel troops crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico in the early morning of June 15, 1865. (<i>Cortina: Defending the Mexican Name in Texas</i> by Jerry Thompson, page 150)&nbsp; Chased out of Texas by Yankees soldiers who were largely of African descent, the Rebel government surrendered the Lone Star State in fact to these sable Yankees.&nbsp; On the next day June 16, 1865, Texas officially surrendered to Federal authority; and the last state in rebellion was finally brought back into the Union.&nbsp; The Stars and Stripes was returned to the Texas state house that June.&nbsp; The Union was preserved that June.&nbsp; That June a victorious Union Army with African American soldiers as standard bearers liberated the enslaved of Texas who were declared free by the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given these facts, Juneteenth is not at its historical roots “when <i>the news</i> of the Emancipation Proclamation got to Texas.”&nbsp; <i>The news</i> was in Texas in the persons of African descent Yankee soldiers and sailors in 1862 and 1863.&nbsp; Juneteenth is when such Yankee soldiers and sailors brought Texas back into the Union and freed the enslaved by enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation.&nbsp; As Henry Lewis reported, “</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dis is the last state to turn the slaves free.&nbsp; When dey didn’t let dem go in March, de Yankee soldiers come in June and make dem let us go.” (“Henry Lewis”, Yetman, page 206)&nbsp; Throughout Texas <i>the news</i> and most importantly <i>the enforcement</i> of the Proclamation arrived at different times.&nbsp; Bill Homer of Fort Worth reported, “After surrender, Missy reads de paper and tells we’uns is free, by dat we’uns kin stay till we is adjusted to de change.” (“Bill Homer”, Yetman, page 170)&nbsp; The change to be adjusted to was brought on by a military victory in which Americans of African descent played an important role.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you are celebrating Juneteenth because you believe that June 19, 1865 is the day “when <i>the news</i> of the Emancipation Proclamation got to Texas,” you are celebrating for the wrong reason.&nbsp; When I celebrate Juneteenth, I am </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">celebrating a military victory over the Texas Rebels that resulted in <i>the enforcement</i> of the Emancipation Proclamation in all the ten states that were in rebellion in 1863 as well as the successful effort to keep the Republic <i>indivisible</i>.&nbsp; School children in Texas pledge allegiance to the Stars and Stripes because of the military victory that brought Texas back into the Union.&nbsp; That’s why I like that Juneteenth falls near Flag Day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">According to the <i>Houston Chronicle</i>, there are 41 states that “recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday, and Maryland currently has legislation pending that could make it the 42nd state.”&nbsp; In each of these states the Juneteenth holiday according to legislation was established because <i>the news</i> of the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t get to Texas until June 19,1865.&nbsp; While advancing and getting this false explanation into legislation across the country, the leader of the national campaign to make Juneteenth a national holiday believes that this maybe “the year for Juneteenth to be recognized as a national holiday observance in America, like Flag Day and Patriot Day."&nbsp; Before the nation takes on the expense of another Federal holiday, we should at least get the history correct.&nbsp; The Federal legislature should not be as careless and loose with the history as 41 state legislatures have been.&nbsp; Falsehoods embedded in the law are not worth celebrating, but Flag Day and Juneteenth together are worth celebrating.</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dydxH6wLN_8/T-CyD9lGpsI/AAAAAAAAAF0/eu2pxkkW2w8/s1600/Texas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dydxH6wLN_8/T-CyD9lGpsI/AAAAAAAAAF0/eu2pxkkW2w8/s400/Texas1.jpg" height="332" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: white; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2012/06/juneteenth-flag-day-celebration.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-3898722043865852964Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:35:00 +00002012-03-31T14:35:50.665-04:00On the Study of African Americans in the Civil War<br /><br />A student at South Carolina State University asked me to assist him on a presentation&nbsp;he was preparing on the Civil War. I asked him, “In what way can I help?” And&nbsp;he replied, “I just want to know what you think is the most pertinent information&nbsp;my presentation needs to have. I don't want to beat a dead horse by having the basic&nbsp;information we've known since middle school.”<br /><br />The following was my reply:<br /><br />Well, you will definitely get a different story from me. The story that has been and is&nbsp;presented in middle schools and in the universities today is based on partial information&nbsp;as it pertains to African Americans. The story as told by left leaning scholars diminishes&nbsp;the role of African Americans by focusing on acts of discrimination while leaving out the&nbsp;accomplishments of African Americans. The story as told by right leaning scholars&nbsp;diminishes the role of African Americans by arguing that the president and his generals&nbsp;didn't trust African Americans to do much because they were not trained well enough&nbsp;having come out of slavery. While the story as told by right and left leaning scholars are&nbsp;different in intent and focus they are identical in result, the truth gets suppressed because&nbsp;the role of African Americans is diminished.<br /><br />The impact of African American soldiers, sailors, guides, scouts and spies was in fact&nbsp;decisive. Without the help of these Americans, the Union would not have been able to&nbsp;achieve the major victories that led to the ultimate victory when it did. General Grant&nbsp;and President Lincoln make this point clear. In August 1863, Lincoln informed a&nbsp;political supporter who opposed the Emancipation Proclamation that Grant had informed&nbsp;him that Vicksburg, which Lincoln had called "the key to victory," could not have been&nbsp;captured when it was without the military help of persons of African descent. African&nbsp;descent soldiers would go on to capture the Cradle of Secession, Charleston, in February&nbsp;1865 and the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, in April 1865. African descent&nbsp;soldiers would stop Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court<br />House on April 9, 1865. And on June 15, 1865, African descent soldiers would chase the&nbsp;governor of Texas and 10,000 Rebel soldiers out of the United States thus bringing Texas&nbsp;back into the Union on June 16, 1865. By focusing on such accomplishments, it is&nbsp;apparent that African descent soldiers freed themselves while saving the Union.<br /><br />Yet, the story as told is that African Americans were freed by President Lincoln's&nbsp;proclamation on January 1, 1863; and word of his proclamation didn't get to Texas until&nbsp;June 19, 1865. It purports that the "Black" soldiers simply added more bodies to an&nbsp;already superior in numbers Union army, but the president and his generals didn't have&nbsp;confidence in the skill and bravery of African American soldiers; so they didn't&nbsp;give "Blacks" commissions or equal pay and were reluctant to send them into combat.&nbsp;This partial story is not aligned with a true description of African American experiences&nbsp;and contributions during the Civil War. The story as I tell it shares detailed descriptions&nbsp;that are revealing, fascinating and elevating to the human spirit.<br /><br />When I wrote this reply, I had not completed Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored&nbsp;Troops 1862 – 1867 by William Dobak. If I had, I would have surely recommended it to&nbsp;the young scholar. Dobak’s book is the best book I have ever read on African American&nbsp;soldiers in the Civil War. His book is comprehensive and extremely well written. If one&nbsp;wishes to discuss this topic intelligently, one needs to read Dobak’s book or examine the&nbsp;same primary sources he cites. His observations and conclusions are well supported by&nbsp;accessible sources and facts. “The most enduring accomplishment of the Union’s black&nbsp;soldiers,” wrote Dobak, “was to assert their rights to full citizenship and, by extension,&nbsp;that of their kin.” Dobak has given those who seek to understand the role of African&nbsp;American soldiers in the Civil War a solid foundation for further study and discussions.&nbsp;Therefore, I highly recommend this historical work as the best I have ever read on the&nbsp;subject.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRCx1LpAxCvQZABS6lv4CTRN0JolgzSLjfo4S9EyPh5qYyVxM1M" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRCx1LpAxCvQZABS6lv4CTRN0JolgzSLjfo4S9EyPh5qYyVxM1M" width="217" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/030/30-24/CMH_pub_30-24.pdf" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/030/30-24/CMH_pub_30-24.pdf</a>&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2012/03/on-study-of-african-americans-in-civil.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-1538741342777555153Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:48:00 +00002012-02-03T07:48:11.035-05:00<span id="internal-source-marker_0.8816062865263534" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On January 31, 2012 I was one of four panelists at the Necessary Sacrifices Pre-Performance Seminar hosted by the Ford’s Theater Society. The seminar, held in &nbsp;Ford’s Theater Center for Education and Leadership, investigated the lives and leadership of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The following is what I shared: </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the autumn of 1847, in the last issue of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mystery</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, the mother of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The North Star</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, Martin Delany wrote, “We leave ‘The Mystery’ for a union with the far famed and world renowned Frederick Douglass, as a co-laborer, in the cause of our oppressed brethren, by publication of a large and capacious paper, ‘The North Star’ in Rochester, N.Y., … which cannot fail to be productive and of signal benefit to the slave and our nominally free brethren when the head and heart of Douglass enters into the combination.”</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In Frederick Douglass’ autobiography </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life and Times</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> there is no mention of this “combination” with Delany. &nbsp;Douglass claims the sole proprietorship of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The North Star</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> referring to it as simply “my paper.” &nbsp;Yet the paper was clearly </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">their paper</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> with backing from established African American leaders. &nbsp;Douglass’ failure to mention this “combination” deprives his readers of information critical to understanding African American leaders and their activities before and during the Civil War.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the late 18th and early 19</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> centuries, African American leaders such as Prince Hall, Absalom Jones, George Lawrence, and Lewis Woodson advocated working in league with the Constitution to end slavery and to gain their rights as citizens. &nbsp;Allan Pinkerton would come to know the secret national organization derived from their advocacy as the “Loyal League,” of which </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mystery</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The North Star</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> were organs. &nbsp;The organization was also known as the Legal League and in the Mississippi Valley as Lincoln’s Legal Loyal League or simply the 4Ls. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">League insiders believed that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were in the words of Absalom Jones “divine instruments of goodness.” &nbsp;They believed that the Constitution was an anti-slavery document and that in league with that “divine instrument of goodness,” they could end the tyranny of slavery and gain their rights as citizens. &nbsp;Until the autumn of 1847, as a self-proclaimed disciple of William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass believed that the Constitution was a pro-slavery document. &nbsp;Yet when Douglass “enters into the combination” with Delany, a League insider, Douglass embraced the belief that the Constitution was an anti-slavery document. &nbsp;In </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life and Times</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, Douglass discusses this change in position, but he fails to mention those who persuaded or influenced him to change his position.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Douglass and Delany were indeed co-founders and co-editors of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The North Star</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. &nbsp;A careful examination of Delany’s and Douglass’ articles in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">their paper</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> reveals clearly that Delany targeted African American readers while Douglass targeted European American readers. &nbsp;As the Civil War approached, Douglass was the most influential African American voice among European Americans while Delany was the “planner” or rather the operations officer for the Loyal League relinquishing leadership of the secret organization to William Howard Day in 1856.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On January 26, 1863, Governor John Andrew of Massachusetts was granted permission by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to raise African descent regiments for Federal service, and Andrew commissioned George Stearns to head the recruiting effort. &nbsp;That February Stearns employed Douglass as a recruiting agent in New York. &nbsp;Douglass’ first recruit was his youngest son Charles, but his eldest son Lewis did not enlist at that time. &nbsp;Douglass’ recruitment speech “Men of Color to Arms” appeared in the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Frederick Douglass Monthly</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> in March 1863; however, it is important to note that Douglass’ journal was not the journal of choice for the young men of African descent who joined the Massachusetts regiments. &nbsp;The </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Anglo-African</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> edited by Robert Hamilton in New York City was their journal of choice. &nbsp;And the most prolific recruiter for the 54</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Massachusetts in New York was not Frederick Douglass. The most prolific recruiter in New York was George Stevens, a war correspondent for the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Anglo-African</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> who had covered both Battles of Bull Run and the Battle of Antietam. &nbsp;Stevens himself enlisted in the Fifty-fourth, became the first sergeant of company B and was commissioned a 2</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">nd</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> lieutenant in 1865.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Douglass was more successful as a fund raiser than he was as a recruiter. &nbsp;The most successful recruiters for the 54</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Massachusetts were in Ohio. &nbsp;Thirty-two percent of the regiment was recruited out of Ohio with an African American businessman O. S. B. Wall and an African American lawyer John Mercer Langston being the top recruiters in that state. &nbsp;However, the individual who emerges as the most important coordinator of the recruitment of African descent soldiers in 1863 was Martin Delany. &nbsp;Headquartered in Chicago, Delany was first engaged as a recruiting agent for Massachusetts, and he became the managing agent in the West and Southwest for other northern states. &nbsp;In association with an African American businessman in Chicago John Jones, they were able “to raise black troops from all parts of the country.” &nbsp;Delany reported to Secretary Stanton, “We are able sir, to command all the effective black men, as agents, in the United States.” &nbsp;Emphasis here is that Delany was able “to command” effective agents not simply be an effective agent. &nbsp;With Delany you got an effective organization while with Douglass you got a notable personality.&nbsp; </span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It was the effectiveness of this organization known as Lincoln’s Legal Loyal League (or simply the 4Ls) in the Mississippi Valley that made Stanton’s offer to commission Frederick Douglass as an assistant to General Lorenzo Thomas unnecessary. &nbsp;Douglass was simply not the best qualified for such an assignment. &nbsp;The League dispatched many “effective agents” to the Mississippi Valley in 1863 to assist General Thomas in recruiting and to assist General Ulysses S. Grant in military operations. &nbsp;Soon after Douglass met with President Lincoln on August 8, 1863, the President received a letter from General Grant declaring, “By arming the negro we have added a powerful ally.”</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The three issues covered by Douglass in his first meeting with Lincoln were 1) the unequal pay mandated by Congress in section 15 of the Militia Act of 1862, which authorized the enlistment of men of African descent into the army, 2) the commissioning of African descent officers, and 3) the treatment of African descent soldiers when captured. &nbsp;On June 15, 1864, President Lincoln signed legislation that equalized the pay and granted arrears to African descent soldiers. &nbsp;As for commissions, it is important to note that over eighty African American officers had been commissioned before August 1863. &nbsp;Lincoln had ordered the commissioning of Dr. Alexander Augusta as a captain in October 1862. &nbsp;Over seventy African Americans had been commissioned in the Department of the Gulf upon the recommendation of General Benjamin Butler and approved by the War Department before January 1, 1863. However, General Nathaniel Banks forced most of the officers commissioned by General Butler out of service by the summer of 1863, and it was not until late 1864 that commissions were submitted and approved for combat arms officers in the Eastern Theater. &nbsp;Chaplains had been commissioned in that theater as early as September 1863. &nbsp;President Lincoln ordered the commissioning of Martin Delany as a major of infantry in February 1865. &nbsp;Major Delany became the commander of the 104</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> US Colored Infantry, and O. S. B. Wall was commissioned a captain and became the regiment’s executive officer. &nbsp;Lewis Douglass, the original sergeant major of the 54</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Massachusetts, like many other senior noncommissioned officers in the 54</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was competent enough to be an officer. &nbsp;Lewis, however, was discharged for medical reasons in May 1864 and was not among the noncommissioned officers from the 54</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> who did receive commissions. &nbsp;Finally, on the issue of the treatment of African descent POWs, the Confederates eventually changed their policy and behavior due primarily to the retributions exacted by Generals Grant and Butler. &nbsp;Also of note is that the unsanctioned actions of Confederate soldiers such as the massacre at Fort Pillow were brought to an end by the retributions exacted by African descent soldiers. &nbsp;General John Alexander Logan wrote, “The cry with which our Union black soldiers went into battle – ‘Remember Fort Pillow’ – inspired them to great deeds of valor, and struck with fear the hearts of the enemy. &nbsp;Fort Pillow was avenged on many a bloody field.”</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Frederick Douglass was indeed an important American abolitionist and an </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">influential editor</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> before and during the Civil War. &nbsp;But we must be cautious not to overstate Douglass’ role as an African American leader. &nbsp;If we truly want to understand the contributions of African Americans in their fight for freedom, we must dig deep into the archives, which include the notable works of Douglass and the works of many others who were far more prolific recruiters and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">far more effective leaders within</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">America’s African descent communities.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2012/02/on-january-31-2012-i-was-one-of-four.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-6994946506659405042Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:57:00 +00002011-12-22T00:23:36.755-05:00The ContrarianReading Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Reflections” on my most resent blog entry and the related posts, I discovered that people who don’t know I write the African American Civil War Museum blog were reading it. One such person suggested that I was anonymous as a consequence of cowardice. My name is Hari Jones, curator of the museum. I really take offense to the criticism that my blog activity is monthly because I have never been better than a quarterly blogger. Blogging diverts my attention from researching. When it comes to my blogging skill set, it is not even sophomoric. It is elementary. But I have been compelled by the current situation to become somewhat more frequent.<br /><br />As for my comments on Coates’ essay, I do believe I should have done a better job explaining the observation that his Civil War scholarship is sophomoric. Evident in the citations and observations presented in his essay, we get a rather eloquent regurgitation of the works of esteemed scholars and brilliant reiterations of obvious observations. The essay is like a “hip hop remix” with only contemporary rock and roll and absolutely no soul. Two of his three quotations of African Americans are through European American writers (Mary Livermore quoted Aunt Aggy, and Thomas Higginson quoted Corporal Thomas Long.). The African American most quoted in elementary school essays Frederic Douglass is the only person of African descent to get into the remix with a direct quote. Coates is too intelligent to remain sophomoric, so that criticism is temporal. (Yet, I am sure I shall remain elementary as a blogger.)<br /><br />Also Coates failed to identify the failure of his Afro-centric education. The problem with telling this story accurately over the past twenty-two years, since the movie <i>Glory</i>, has not been the result of European American scholars who obviously suppressed and falsified the story for the first half of the 20th century. The problem is that those who seized the reigns of Afro-centric education failed to properly educate their students on this critical era in African American history. Coates as evinced in his own words is a poster child for that failure. And by ignoring that failure, his essay would be more properly named “How Whites Discouraged Blacks From Studying the Civil War.” But that is only part of the phenomenon resulting in relatively few African Americans studying the Civil War. As I often say, “the problem is not a ‘white’ conspiracy in the 21st century. It is simply the bad scholarship of persons of African and European descent.”<br /><br />Now someone even referred to my commitment to excellence in scholarship as a “vendetta.” I would hate to give up my research time to pursue such a petty campaign. But I do get emotional when people fail to recognize the legacy of our African descent forefathers and contemporary leaders. If we mistakenly overlook the contributions of our contemporary leaders, who we know best, we cannot be expected to understand the legacy of our USCT ancestors and other Civil War freedom fighters. To overlook the Frank Smith Jr. of 2011 is to overlook the John S. Rock of 1861. My aggressiveness was motivated by my commitment to the legacy of America’s African descent patriots. With eloquence, Coates admits that he made a mistake of omission because of his unintentional oversight, an oversight that he has taken action to correct.<br /><br />Another post I would like to address is the suggestion that my use of the phrase “black writer selected” alludes to tokenism. Coates knows his merits as a writer got him his position as a senior editor at <i>The Atlantic</i>. As a writer, he is no more a token to <i>The Atlantic</i> as Kevin Garnet is a token to the OKC Thunder. I will here iterate that I knew him to be “a gifted writer” before he got the position. He is indeed one of the best of the brilliant young writers that have experienced the magic of the You Street Corridor from the 1990s to now. As a lover of that legacy, I am proud to claim him as part of a You Street literary legacy that dates back to the 1890s. "Before Harlem" for Ta-Nehisi Coates, "there was You Street." We here on You Street love that he is a senior editor at <i>The Atlantic</i>, and we expect him to remember that there is an African American Civil War Memorial at 10th and You Street Northwest in Washington, DC.<br /><br />Because of my harsh criticisms of inaccuracies, those who do not share my love for primary sources and accuracy have accused me of being a contrarian. Indeed, I am a contrarian when it comes to inaccuracies in history, intentional or unintentional. We should all be contrarians in those situations. Though embracing the label scholar, I am not by definition nor position an academic. I am however consistently critical of academics who endorse Juneteenth as it is currently promoted and explained, who endorse <i>Glory</i> as a story “almost perfectly aligned with the historical evidence” and who do not mention the accomplishments of African American soldiers during the Civil War, such as the capturing of Richmond. My criticism of Coates is consistent with my criticism of academics. Like many of them, he is a mature intellectual. Coates has addressed the issue of his oversight, and I expect his scholarship will improve to the unknown-to-me limits of his intellect. My prayer is that all Americans will become contrarians until we teach in our schools the accurate history of our nation and our world. Let there one day be no need for such contrarians as I.http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2011/12/contrarian.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-5651838377486084437Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:37:00 +00002011-12-20T19:09:18.101-05:00Removing the Coat that Hides the African American Civil War MemorialOn National Public Radio (NPR) recently, the black writer that <i>The Atlantic</i> selected to explain <i>why so few blacks study the Civil War</i> declared that African Americans, at least to his knowledge, have no Civil War monuments. Ta-Nehisi Coates, a journalist and senior editor with <i>The Atlantic</i> turned Civil War buff, was certainly feigning ignorance. As a Howard University student in the 1990s, he surely witnessed the construction of the African American Civil War Memorial a few blocks from his campus. Indeed, a little over a year ago he interviewed Frank Smith Jr., the director of the foundation that built the memorial. Why did Coates feign ignorance of the African American Civil War Memorial in front of a national audience? Did he really not remember the bronze statue named the <i>Spirit of Freedom</i> located on U Street in Washington, DC since 1998 and the Wall of Honor behind it with the names of over 200,000 Civil War freedom fighters of African descent?<br /><br />In a well written article in <i>The Atlantic</i> entitled “Why Do So Few Blacks Study the Civil War,” Ta-Nehisi Coates shares his narrative on how he became a “Civil War buff.” He reports that his sojourn began three years ago when he read James McPherson’s <i>Battle Cry of Freedom</i>. Coates credits McPherson for his Civil War awakening. “Transfixed by the war’s central role in making democracy real, I morphed into a Civil War buff,” wrote Coates. He notes that he has subsequently visited battlefields in Tennessee and Virginia, but he does not however mention a visit to the National Archives in Washington, DC. Therefore, I conclude that he has not conducted primary source research at that important American repository.<br /><br />Coates’ article is an intelligent and well-informed complaint against the American scholars who for over a century have argued that slavery was not a cause of the Civil War. His central argument is that European American scholars have misled and ultimately mis-educated African Americans on the Civil War and therefore blacks believe “the Civil War is a story for white people—acted out by white people, on white people’s terms—in which blacks feature strictly as stock characters and props.” Yet, most notably his article is a serious indictment of his Afro-centric education and the history programs at historically black colleges and universities(HBCUs), especially since he attended the HBCU that is heralded as the <i>Mecca</i> of those institutions. On the campus of Howard in the 1990s, Coates was known to boast that his Afro-centric education began at home long before he entered Howard. With this Afro-centric advantage, Coates rather condescendingly made fun of his fellow students who were awakened to Afro-centricity at Howard. By his own admission we now know that his Afro-centric education in the Coates’ household in Baltimore and at Howard was inadequate.<br /><br />Awakened to this period of African American history by James McPherson, Coates notes that McPherson points out “that titans of American history like Charles Beard, Avery Craven, and James G. Randall minimized the role of slavery in the war; some blamed the violence on irreconcilable economic differences between a romantic pastoral South and a capitalistic manufacturing North, or on the hot rhetoric of radical abolitionists.” In 1935, W. E. B. DuBois noted that such “titans of American history” including William A. Dunning of Columbia University were engaged in such scholarship or rather “propaganda.” Certainly, a good Afro-centric education would have exposed Coates to the writings of DuBois. The failure of his Afro-centric education is disconcerting. Yet, even more disconcerting is his failure to address this failure.<br /><br />However, Coates does admit that his teachers at home and at school failed to mention the critical role of African Americans in the Civil War. (DuBois does mention this role in his 1935 essay entitled “The Propaganda of History,” which is also the last chapter of his book <i>Black Reconstruction in America</i>, and Benjamin Quarles addresses their contributions in his 1953 book entitled <i>The Negro in the Civil War</i>.) Ultimately the failure of his Afro-centric upbringing and education was two-fold. One, his educators did not teach him that leading titans of American history were attempting to minimize the role of slavery as a cause of the Civil War even though leading African American scholars had written and published on the subject. Two, his educators did not teach him that African Americans played a critical role in the Civil War even though leading African American scholars had written and published on the subject. There is a trend here, the failure to recognize what African American scholars have been doing, that leads to a third failure that belongs solely to Coates. He fails to recognize the African Americans who have been “moving from protest to production, the burden of summoning our own departed hands, so that they, too, may leave a mark.” If a young black writer with a national audience ignores the work of those leaving that “mark,” then the problem is the education the young black writer turned Civil War buff failed to get and not the “titans of American history.” Indeed the <i>titans of African American history</i> recognized the contributions of African Americans in the Civil War and established a scholarly foundation on which we have built a memorial and a museum.<br /><br />Coates is a gifted writer, but his scholarship on the Civil War is sophomoric. And if indeed he was exposed to the works of W. E. B. DuBois and Benjamin Quarles, and it is likely his father(founder of Black Classic Press) has republished some of their works, his lack of knowledge on what African Americans have been writing on this subject and doing to tell their story is appalling. Reading James McPherson, Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote, watching the Ken Burn’s Civil War series, and walking battlefields are good beginnings for a Civil War buff. But to become a credible spokesman on <i>why so few blacks study the Civil War</i>, he should at a minimum recognize the African Americans who have taken on “the burden of summoning our own departed hands, so that they, too, may leave a mark.” They have spent many hours adding up to years studying primary sources. By imagining that they do not exist or rather intentionally ignoring that they exist, the three year-old Civil War buff with the help of <i>The Atlantic</i> and NPR as his pulpit becomes the “black” spokesman. This kind of behavior retards if not suppresses the telling of the African American story.<br /><br />The African American Civil War Museum shares the African American experience in the Civil War by using primary sources. And with a critical analysis of the works of the aforementioned European American historians as well as the work of Benjamin Quarles, an important African American historian who taught at Morgan State in Baltimore for decades, we give lectures and seminars to educators. In our exhibit entitled “The Glorious March to Liberty: Civil War to Civil Rights,” we quote only history makers. We quote no scholars. If you were not there in the making of the history, you do not get a quote in our exhibit. We recognize the contributions of the African Americans who came before us, and we do not pretend to be the first to carry “the burden of summoning our own departed hands, so that they, too, may leave a mark.”<br /><br />With the national attention garnered from NPR and <i>The Atlantic</i>, it would do our community, his community, great service if Coates became familiar with the work of the museum and the aforementioned African American scholars. He can begin by reviewing his own notes and videotape from his 2010 interview of the museum’s founding director Frank Smith Jr. To jog his memory, he can pay us a visit at our new site across the street from the African American Civil War Memorial. We’ve been getting visits from a lot of Civil War buffs who want to learn more about the African American experience in the Civil War.http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2011/12/removing-coat-that-hides-african.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-7220669661133521037Sun, 19 Jun 2011 06:20:00 +00002011-06-25T14:40:30.485-04:00Should America Celebrate Juneteenth Day?American school children have been taught that President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves on January 1, 1863. However, Lincoln’ s Emancipation Proclamation only declared free slaves in the rebel states. There were fifteen slaveholding states in January 1863. The Proclamation applied to the ten states in rebellion, the ten states that were fighting a bloody war against the Lincoln led government in Washington. Therefore, Lincoln’ s proclamation had to be enforced by the military. Slaves in the rebel states were freed when federal authority was reestablished in those rebellious states by military force, and African Americans played a major role in the military victory that resulted in their liberation. African Americans who celebrate Juneteenth Day implicitly embrace the idea that the slaves were freed on January 1, 1863, and “ without any effort of their own.” Why do these celebrants accept as truth an inaccurate description of their own ancestors as “ inert recipients of freedom”? Most of them value the importance of knowing their history. Would they continue to celebrate Juneteenth if they knew their history? And why don’t they know their history?<div><br /></div><div><br /><br />In a 1935 essay entitled the “ Propaganda of History” , W. E. B. Du Bois wrote that influential European American scholars falsified the history of the Civil War in order to suppress the fact that the United States government, the Union, “ had to call in the black men to save the Union, abolish slavery and established democracy.” The success of the propaganda campaign that Du Bois identified resonates today in the attempts to make Juneteenth Day (June 19) a national holiday. Over thirty states have made June 19 a state holiday, representing a major victory for the historians or rather the propagandists who deliberately falsified Civil War history to make African Americans appear to be “ inert recipients of freedom” who did nothing to free themselves.<br /><br />The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) under the leadership of Ronald V. Myers aggressively seeks to make June 19 a national holiday. Announcing that Nevada had become the 39th state to establish June 19 as a state holiday, NJOF explained the significance of the Juneteenth. In this news release dated May 11, 2011, the explanation reads:<br /><br />Juneteenth recognizes the day, June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to read General Order #3, announcing "all slaves are free" through the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln. It took over two and a half years for the news to reach Southwest Texas, the last geographic area in America where slavery was practiced, creating the oldest African American freedom celebration and America's second Independence Day.<br /><br />Let us closely examine the veracity of this statement and show how it’ s lack of historical accuracy aligns with the propaganda or simply the lies of those who have sought to suppress the history of how Americans of African descent freed themselves while saving the Union.<br /><br />NJOF states, “ It took over two and a half years for the news [of President Lincoln’ s Emancipation Proclamation] to reach Southwest Texas.” Clearly implied is that the enslaved in <span style="font-style: italic;">Southwest Texas </span>were doing nothing to free themselves between January 1863 and June 19, 1865, and clearly advanced is the description of the Negroes in Texas as woefully ignorant of events related to the bloody national debate. NJOF’ s statement is perfectly aligned with the deliberate lie of W. E. Woodward when he wrote: “ The American Negroes are the only people in the history of the world, so far as I know, that ever became free without any effort of their own.” To state that slaves in Texas did not get the “ news” that they were free until June 19, 1865 when Granger announced <span style="font-style: italic;">“ all slaves are free”</span> is to assert that slaves in Texas (and in all the states where the Emancipation Proclamation applied) were freed “ without any effort of their own.”<br /><br />Also NJOF purports that Southwest Texas was “ the last geographic area in America where slavery was practiced” and that slavery came to an end there when Granger read his order in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. Galveston however is not in Southwest Texas. It is in Southeast Texas. The Union Army under General Nathaniel P. Banks captured Brownsville, Texas, which is in Southwest Texas, in November 1863. (See Harper’ s Weekly, November 28, 1863 at <a href="http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/brazos-santiago-texas.htm"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/brazos-santiago-texas.htm</span></a>. Also see December 12, 1863 article entitled “ The Texas Campaign” at <a href="http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/civil-war-guerrillas.htm">http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/civil-war-guerrillas.htm</a>. See also January 16, 1864 article entitled “ Texas” at <a href="http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1864/january/texas-expedition.htm">http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1864/january/texas-expedition.htm</a>. ) Five African descent regiments took part in this Union victory that resulted the Union Army occupying the southwestern tip of Texas for the duration of the war. These regiments became a part of the Union’ s occupation force in Southwest Texas from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. (See National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors System (NPSSS): <a href="http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/regiments.cfm">http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/regiments.cfm</a> “ Search Regiments” and submit query for the “ Union” 85th US Colored Troops, 87th US Colored Troops, 95th US Colored Troops, 96th US Colored Troops and 97th US Colored Troops.) Two additional regiments of US Colored Troops were added to the occupation force in 1864. (See NPSSS and submit query for 20th US Colored Troops and 62nd US Colored Troops.)<br /><br />Another notable error in the NJOF press release is the proclamation that Southwest Texas was “the last geographic area in America where slavery was practiced.” Kentucky, Delaware, twelve parishes in Louisiana and seven counties in Virginia that were exempt from the Emancipation Proclamation were, in fact, “ the last geographic area[s] in America where slavery was practiced.” (See the “ Emancipation Proclamation” .) In these geographic areas slavery did not come to an end until December 1865 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. NJOF also claims that Juneteenth is “ the oldest African American freedom celebration.” However, based on events during the Civil War, Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia (April 16, 1862) was the first African American freedom celebration, therefore, the oldest such celebration related to the Civil War. (See National Archives Records Administration “ Featured Documents”<a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/dc_emancipation_act/"> http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/dc_emancipation_act/</a> .)<br /><br />Without an appreciation of the facts related to emancipation, Ronald Myers and his foundation continues to lobby Congress in hopes of establishing Juneteenth Day as a national holiday. The foundation’ s premise for Juneteenth is clearly false. The official explanation of the historical significance of the day is fictitious. Therefore, Myers and his foundation are attempting to legitimize false history. Unwittingly, this African American organization is suppressing the empowering story of how Americans of African descent freed themselves while saving the Union. This African American foundation enthusiastically makes it appear that African Americans “ are the only people in the history of the world… that ever became free without any effort of their own.” Myers and his foundation perpetuate the false assertions of Woodward and others who have sought to conceal the accurate story. Woodward was clearly a propagandist who lacked integrity, and Ronald Myers as president of the NJOF is unwittingly a Woodward disciple.<br /><br />The truth is that African Americans played a critical role in their own liberations, and this story needs to be told and celebrated. African American soldiers were instrumental in the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Union gaining a stronghold in Southwest Texas in 1863</span>; in capturing Charleston, South Carolina, the Cradle of Secession, on February 18, 1865; in capturing Richmond, Virginia, the Capital of the Confederacy on April 3, 1865; and <span style="font-weight: bold;">in driving the Confederate governor of Texas and his army out of Texas, out of the country into Mexico on June 15, 1865</span>, four days before Granger arrived in Galveston. Without knowledge of such historical facts, thousands of conscious African Americans celebrate Juneteenth Day. Knowledge of the successful efforts of victorious African American freedom fighters in the Civil War compels us to reject the history presented by Woodward and his unwitting disciples. Conscious men such as Myers are victims of a very successful propaganda campaign and are apparently unaware of the facts. Section two of the Nevada legislation calls on educators to advance the false statement that June 19, 1865 is “ when the last slaves in the United States were emancipated.” Consequently, a lie has become law in Nevada. How has this happened in thirty-nine states when the accurate history is easily accessible? It has happened because the propaganda campaign identified by Du Bois was successful in mis-educating many conscious African Americans, and these African Americans have successfully institutionalized a lie that suppresses the accomplishments of their own ancestors.<br /><br />Du Bois wrote in his 1935 essay: “ One has but to read the debates in Congress and state papers from Abraham Lincoln down to know that the decisive action which ended the Civil War was the emancipation and arming of the black slave; that, as Lincoln said: ‘ Without the military help of black freedmen, the war against the South could not have been won.’ The freedmen, far from being the inert recipients of freedom at the hands of philanthropists, furnished 200,000 soldiers in the Civil War who took part in nearly 200 battles and skirmishes, and in addition perhaps 300,000 other as effective laborers and helpers.”<br /><br />The victims, the mis-educated, must be made aware of the truth. And after being exposed to the truth they should cease and desist from advancing Woodward’ s lie by celebrating Juneteenth as the day when the last enslaved people got word that someone in Washington had freed them. Certainly, informed and knowledgeable people should not celebrate the suppression of their own history. Juneteenth Day is a de facto celebration of such suppression. Americans, especially Americans of African descent, should not celebrate that which suppresses the story of how our “ new birth of freedom” was conceived. We should celebrate the story of how America’ s enslaved freed themselves by helping to save the Union. Such freedmen were heroes not spectators, and their story is currently being suppressed by the advocates of the Juneteenth national holiday.<div><br /></div><div>Click on the link below to view the video related to this post:</div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7__GlJuFOM"><iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I7__GlJuFOM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></a></div></div>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2011/06/should-america-celebrate-juneteenth-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-5228902959036792669Wed, 04 May 2011 00:43:00 +00002011-05-03T20:56:02.521-04:00DE FACTO PROPAGANDA<div> The United States Capitol Historical Society (USCHC) will host a symposium on “Emancipation during the Civil War” at the Capitol Visitors Center from May 5 -7, 2011. The title is of interest to me, but I will not attend this symposium because USCHC has selected an academic that either lacks primary source knowledge on the subject or lacks integrity when addressing the subject of African Americans in the Civil War. To adequately address the subject of emancipation, a scholar should possess knowledge on African Americans in the Civil War that evinces an intimacy with primary sources related to the subject. </div><div> USCHC has selected Gary Gallagher of the University of Virginia as their keynote speaker to open the symposium on Thursday night, May 5, 2011. Gallagher has actually argued that the movie Glory is “almost perfectly aligned with the historical evidence” (see his June 2009 article in the Civil War Times). The fact that this Civil War expert made such a statement is clear evidence that he is either unfamiliar with the primary sources related to the subject or a liar. Either option is enough for me to boycott any event where he is brought in as an expert on emancipation during the Civil War, which pertains to the African American experience. </div><div> I am often asked why the well-documented experience of African Americans during the Civil War is still being suppressed while Glory is being promoted. Some believe that there is a contemporary conspiracy by scholars like Gallagher. <b><i>I do not think there is such a conspiracy.</i></b> I do believe, however, that their promotion of a Hollywood movie is a consequence of their poor scholarship. The movie Glory is obliviously fiction, and false statements are presented as truth in the postscript moving it even further out of alignment “with the historical evidence.” Gallagher and others continue to ignore such facts because they are ignorant of the facts. The conspiracy theorists believe that such ignorance is intentional. </div><div> Are scholars like Gallagher intentionally misrepresenting the experience of African Americans during the Civil War? The conspiracy theorists argue that surely these scholars aren’t ignorant of the facts. They do not believe that Gallagher really thinks the movie is “almost perfectly aligned with the historical evidence.” I disagree with the conspiracy theorists. I believe that Gallagher and other esteemed scholars are ignorant of the facts because they are simply victims of the conspiracy that was, a propaganda campaign that tainted the scholarship of our nation’s leading Civil War historians for over five decades. </div><div> In 1935 W. E. B. DuBois wrote in his essay “The Propaganda of History” that Northern scholars such as William Archibald Dunning of Columbia University had suppressed and falsified the history of emancipation during the Civil War because they were “ashamed they had to call on the black man to save the Union, abolish slavery, and establish democracy in the United States.” DuBois detailed the intentional suppression of this history. He identified institutions like Columbia and Johns Hopkins as being at the forefront of advancing the idea that “the Negro had done nothing to free himself.” This is still a popular notion among the well educated, especially among those who have the propensity to think African Americans were inferior or simply victims as a consequence of their conditions in the 19th century.</div><div> Leading African American scholars have done little or nothing to dispel the false images and grossly inaccurate history promoted by Glory because many of them were introduced to the military experience of African Americans in the Civil War by the movie. Accomplished scholars have told me how grateful they are to the moviemakers because they were not aware that African Americans had even fought in the Civil War before they saw the movie. They promote the movie twenty-two years after it premiered even though they know it is not “almost perfectly aligned with the historical evidence.”An African American scholar at Howard University told me that he recommends the movie to his students “because of its effort – however feeble – to portray the meeting of Northern and Southern blacks during the war.” Therefore, he is willing to take the images and concepts of a movie admitting that they are “feeble” to his students as images and concepts of instruction. The result is that he promotes poor scholarship instead of encouraging rigorous scholarship and analytical thinking. </div><div> Such “feeble” attempts, here meaning pathetic attempts, to teach history result in de facto propaganda and the appearance of a conspiracy to mislead or rather mis-educate. Gary Gallagher may indeed be an expert in some area of the Civil War, but his endorsement of Glory as “almost perfectly aligned with the historical evidence” is clear evidence that he is no expert on “emancipation during the Civil War.” The United States Capitol Historical Society will hold a symposium that is a “feeble” attempt to address “Emancipation during the Civil War,” and the attendees will leave with information that will make it more difficult for them to apprehend the truth. Such activities function as de facto propaganda, and for that reason I shall not attend the symposium.</div>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2011/05/de-facto-propaganda.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-6359072500333989868Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:09:00 +00002011-03-26T20:37:22.017-04:00Questions from a 7th Grader MajorThis month, I had the pleasure of speaking at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the attendees was an exceptionally bright 7th grader by the name of Ime Essien. After asking me some very good questions at the program, he sent me an email with more questions. I read his email at midnight and felt compelled by the eloquence of his request to reply immediately. I have included his email request along with his questions and my answers.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dear Mr. Jones,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I am the seventh grader, Ime Essien, that came to your lecture at Coppin State University. Thank you f</span><span style="font-style: italic;">or speaking with me about African American soldiers in the Civil War and for the Delany Group Reading List. Your lecture was amazingly helpful for my project. You also have a great knowledge and background about the Civil War.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> You gave me a lot of important information that I did not already know. I am working on the History Day Project about the success of using African American soldiers in the Civil War. Here are the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">interview questions I mentioned to you</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> in the attached document. Some of the questions you have already answered in your lecture but I need to quote you in my research paper. I hope you have the time to read and respond to the question</span><span style="font-style: italic;">s. Thank you again.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sincerely,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ime Essien</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">History Day Interview Questions</span><br /><br /></div>1. Why was the petition that Fredrick Douglass had for black [African descent] soldiers in the Union with black [African descent] officers was important for creating more African descent units?<br /><br />By “black” I understand that you are speaking of Americans of African descent. As a political scientist, I do not accept “black” as a scientifically and culturally accurate description of person of African descent. Therefore, I deleted the word “black” in your questions for the sake of cultural accuracy and good science. The difference in the terms is not simply semantics. It is a question of scientific approach and cultural accuracy.<br /><br />Frederick Douglass’ petition was important in that it supported the requests of military commanders. Based on prudent military decisions, “necessary war measures”, Abraham Lincoln worked to get the legislative authority to raise African descent units because he<br />was made aware of their fighting abilities, and these highly motivated freedom fighters were needed to save the Union. Douglass helped in the legislative campaign or rather lobbying campaign. (See his editorial “The War and Slavery” which appeared in the Douglass’ Monthly of August 1861.) Frederick Douglass was important as the editor of a widely read journal. However, as a consequence of the physical and mental abilities of African descent soldiers, General U. S. Grant contributed far more significantly than any other lobbying campaign including Douglass’s. The 4Ls, Lincoln Legal Loyal League, provided very capable soldiers, guides, scouts and spies to Grant’s army during his Vicksburg Campaign. Many of these men were like their progeny today highly intelligent and elite athletes. William Howard Day, Martin Delany and Moses Dickson are the African Americans you should research in order to understand how these highly capable soldiers were recruited and trained. Delany opened a recruiting office in Chicago in 1863. He and John Mercer Langston were the most prolific recruiters of these elite soldiers/athletes. The African descent soldiers who fought with Grant in his Vicksburg Campaign provided the most important reason for more African descent units to be created.<br />There were less than 200 African descent commissioned officers during the Civil War. Soon after the organization of the first African descent regiments, there were African descent officers and noncommissioned officers who commanded troops in combat. According to the commanding officer of the 33rd USCI, initially organized as the 1st South Carolina, Colonel T. W. Higginson, Sergeant Prince Rivers was far more competent as a commander of patrols and raids than any of Higginson’s officers. (See Higginson’s book Army Life in a Black Regiment). Hundreds of African descent<br />noncommissioned officers were in de facto command of their troops on the company level. James Bronson, Powhatan Beaty, Milton Holland and William Pinn were noncommissioned officers who earned the Medal of Honor while commanding their companies at the Battle of New Market Heights on September 29, 1864. Two African descent regiments had African descent officers in command (Major Martin Delany 104th USCI and Lieutenant Colonel William Reed 35th USCI), but only one of those officers led his regiment into battle. Lt. Colonel Reed was the executive officer of the 35th USCI and was the acting-commanding officer of the regiment during the Battle of Olustee in February 1864. Reed was killed in action (KIA) on that Florida battlefield.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f80blto9crk/TY6DCaqn6pI/AAAAAAAAACA/hnqvIviAbOQ/s1600/6.2%2BMartin%2BDelany.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 251px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f80blto9crk/TY6DCaqn6pI/AAAAAAAAACA/hnqvIviAbOQ/s320/6.2%2BMartin%2BDelany.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588548265154439826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >Major Martin R. Delany, commanding officer of the<br />104th US Colored Troops, was one of 149<br />African American officers during the Civil War.</span><br /></div><br /><br />2. What was the difference between the African descent units fighting for the Union and the Confederacy?<br /><br />Your question assumes that there were African descent units fighting for the Confederacy. There is no official Confederate record that supports this assumption. There is some evidence that there were a small number of men of African descent who fought with the Confederacy, but the only unit of African descent in a Confederate state militia was the Louisiana Native Guards, led by Major F. E. Dumas and Captain A. Cailloux, both became Union officers. The Louisiana Native Guards witnessed acts of sabotage that degraded the defenses of New Orleans while on guard duty for the Confederacy. This regiment subsequently fought for the Union and liberty, like scores of other African descent regiments. The biggest difference, therefore, is that there is no Union unit of African descent that fought for the Confederacy, but there is a Confederate state unit of African descent that fought for the Union.<br /><br />3. How was the Emancipation Proclamation an important influence for the Union?<br /><br />General Grant observed that it added a “power ally” to the Union war effort. George Albright said that he was a runner for the 4Ls with the responsibility of taking the word to “secret gathering” that it was the day of the Jubilee and now time to aid the Union. Like the members of the 4Ls, the Emancipation Proclamation “added a powerful ally,” men who were eminently qualified to be soldiers, to the Union cause. African descent soldiers thus armed were made legal liberators by the Emancipation Proclamation. That would be like adding the top athletes in the NBA or NFL to your roster.<br /><br />4. Why were African descent units created for the Union?<br /><br />The rebellion of the Confederate States was militarily promising in July 1862. After the “greatest disasters of the war,” African descent units were organized “as a fit and necessary war measure to suppress said rebellion.” Abraham Lincoln states this in the Emancipation Proclamation. Therefore, African descent units were created to preserve the Union, the paramount objective of the federal government during the Civil War.<br /><br />5. James H. Harris, an African American soldier, received the Medal of Honor for actions at the Battle of New Market Heights during the Civil War. Were there any other African American soldiers in the Civil War to win an award?<br /><br />The Medal of Honor is earned. It is not “won.” There were 18 African American soldiers and 7 sailors who earned and received the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry during the Civil War. The first African American to receive the Medal of Honor was the sailor Robert Blake on April 16, 1864.<br /><br />6. Why was President Lincoln against African descent soldiers in the beginning of the Civil War?<br /><br />From the primary source evidence, it is clear that President Lincoln supported the legislation authorizing the use of African descent troops. After Congress passed the required legislation, Lincoln’s War Department immediately moved to organize African descent soldiers and deployed them in combat. The reason why many scholars claim that he was against raising African descent regiments is because they are critical of him for not subverting the Constitution by ordering their recruitment at the beginning of the war and such scholars focus on almost humorous Lincoln statements to support their opinion, which is not supported by the records of Lincoln’s actions. Frederick Douglass admonished us to evaluate Lincoln’s commitment to the effort of emancipation by comparing what Lincoln says to what he does. Lincoln does support the legislation to arm men of African descent; Lincoln does deploy African descent soldiers in combat; and Lincoln does give them credit for helping to suppress the rebellion, saving the Union and winning the war. The evidence from official records is clear that Lincoln was not against arming men of African descent.<br /><br />7. What was the effect of African descent units winning battles for the Union?<br /><br />General John Alexander Logan wrote that the battle cry of African descent soldiers, “’Remember Fort Pillow!’ – inspired them to deeds of valor, and struck with fear the hearts of the Enemy.” (See The Great Conspiracy by John A. Logan.) Confederate soldiers near the end of the war who were defeated on many battlefields by African descent soldiers grew more reluctant to fight. They deserted at a very high rate.<br /><br />8. What was the first African American unit in the Civil War?<br /><br />The first African American regiment officially mustered into the Union Army was the 1st Louisiana Native Guard. However, the smallest “unit” in the Civil War army was a company. Therefore, Company A of the 1st South Carolina led by Sergeant Prince Rivers was the first African American “unit” in the Civil War.http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2011/03/questions-from-7th-grader.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-3600019482133300816Sun, 13 Feb 2011 00:28:00 +00002011-02-12T20:03:47.095-05:00Corrections to Prevent Advancing False Reports<!--[if !mso]> <style> v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="&#45;-"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;">The false reports often advanced by leading scholars have nothing to do with a conspiracy.<span style=""> </span>They have everything to do with inaccuracies.<span style=""> </span>Whenever we make inaccurate statements or whenever they are attributed to us, we must correct them if we are to apprehend the truth.<span style=""> </span>Defending our mistakes misleads those who trust us.<span style=""> </span>I don’t want to appear right.<span style=""> </span>I really want to get it right.<span style=""> </span>Therefore, I welcome being corrected.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;">There are scholars like Noah Trudeau, on my "Delany Group Reading List", who I do not believe have advanced false reports.<span style=""> </span>I also have great respect for William Gladstone.<span style=""> </span>There are others, however, who have.<span style=""> </span>See the <i style="">Civil War Times</i> June 2009 and read the article on the movie <i style="">Glory</i>.<span style=""> </span>Notably, I think the movie was a great advertisement for the service of African descent soldiers during the Civil War.<span style=""> </span>However, whoever says that it “was almost perfectly aligned with the historical evidence” is making a false report.<span style=""> </span>(See <i style="">Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Robert Gould Shaw</i>.)</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;">We all make mistakes and must be willing to correct those mistakes if we are in the pursuit of the truth.<span style=""> </span>In an earlier blog entry, I wrote that “Sergeant William Carney received the Medal of Honor on <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">May 23, 1863</span>." I should have written <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">May 23, 1900</span>.<span style=""> </span>If I attempted to argue that my mistake is correct, then I would have problems with me. <span style=""> </span>I would indeed be advancing a false report in order to appear right.<span style=""> </span>I was wrong, but that’s an easy one.<span style=""> </span>At one time I thought that Mary Elizabeth Bowser was a spy inside the Confederate White House.<span style=""> </span>I was wrong.<span style=""> </span>James Henry Jones was the spy inside the Confederate White House.<span style=""> </span>There is no evidence that Bowser worked in the Confederate White House.<span style=""> </span>I hated to drop that report, but the facts as I understand them today have compelled me to drop it.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;">Recently, I read that 75% of the soldiers in the 54<sup>th</sup> Massachusetts were college graduates.<span style=""> </span>I even read that I made such a grossly inaccurate statement.<span style=""> </span>The person attributing that statement to me was quoting a newspaper article.<span style=""> </span>If I ever said that I misspoke.<span style=""> </span>However, I most likely said over 75% of the 54<sup>th</sup> Massachusetts was literate.<span style=""> </span>Hopefully, in the near future, I will become a hard target when my book is published.<span style=""> </span>Then I will have a better opportunity to correct my own inaccuracies with help of good researchers who love primary sources.<span style=""> </span>I can’t wait to get it right.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;">Some have asked for the newspapers that reported the capture of Richmond by United States Colored Troops. <span style=""> </span>I refer them to the Philadelphia <i style="">Press</i> and the Washington <i style="">National Republican</i>, which in the evening extra on April 3, 1865 reads:</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q72rNWmzPeM/TVcpGv61zoI/AAAAAAAAABg/t908_LUcT2Q/s1600/NatlRep491.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 312px; height: 338px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q72rNWmzPeM/TVcpGv61zoI/AAAAAAAAABg/t908_LUcT2Q/s320/NatlRep491.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572968259813494402" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;">Finally, in order to avoid advancing false reports, I would like to report that I was a sergeant in the US Marine Corps in July 1978.<span style=""> </span>I enlisted in July 1976. <span style=""> </span>Some bloggers have been advancing false reports about my being a captain in the late 70s.<span style=""> </span>I was a captain in the early 90s.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>I want to ensure that such false reports are corrected. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2011/02/corrections-to-prevent-advancing-false.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-7762086613994617047Sun, 02 Jan 2011 01:34:00 +00002011-01-01T21:31:40.851-05:00Commemoration, Celebration or Protest?<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="">Commemoration, Celebration or Protest?</b></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Is the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War a time to celebrate or to commemorate?</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">For the British, the Fourth of July is no time to celebrate.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Americans, however, view the day and the war that brought independence to the United States of America as a time and event to celebrate.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">For those who argue that the Civil War was not about slavery and elevate secessionist leaders as heroic figures, the Sesquicentennial is understandably a solemn commemoration.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Those who resent such an elevation of these Rebel leaders are inclined to protest secessionist commemorations.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Both groups are uninformed or ill informed on the activities of America’s African descent freedom fighters before and during the Civil War.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Americans thus informed view the war as the event that brought “a new birth of freedom” to our young Republic, and for them the Sesquicentennial is indeed a time to celebrate.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Therefore, with an understanding of the activities of these <i style="">American freedom fighters</i>, we can all find good reason to celebrate the commemorations of the secessions of the states that formed the Confederate States of America.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HuOEbQsfiBI/TR_ZiUjL2vI/AAAAAAAAABM/E_Vp12eX6Yo/s1600/LincolnsColumn.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 404px; height: 431px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HuOEbQsfiBI/TR_ZiUjL2vI/AAAAAAAAABM/E_Vp12eX6Yo/s320/LincolnsColumn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557399648853547762" border="0" /></a></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >"Lincoln's Column"<br />After the election of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th President of the United States, African American laborers working on the construction of the U.S. Capitol dedicated this column to the president-elect.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >Courtesy of the Library of Congress</span><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> 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unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Just over 150 years ago, Democrats in Ohio sought to nullify the results of the 1860 election because men of African descent, though prohibited by state law from voting, had voted for the Republican ticket.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Solomon P. Chase was certainly capable of delivering such votes.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Abraham Lincoln won the state’s electoral college by such a small margin that many Democrats believed it was the African American vote that gave the Republicans the state. This historical event was litigated, reported, confessed, ignored by mainstream historians and ultimately debated by those who were taught to ignore it whenever it was brought to their attention.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Ignoring the fact that men of African descent voted in Ohio leads to a profound misunderstanding of the political activities, capabilities and intentions of Americans of African descent leading up to the Civil War.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Americans of African descent began preparing for a civil war years before Lincoln was elected.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Dr. John S. Rock said on March 5, 1858: “Sooner or later, the clashing of arms will be heard in this country, and the black man’s services will be needed.”</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Rock declared that free and enslaved persons of African descent would be “wild with the enthusiasm caused by the dawn of the glorious opportunity of being able to strike a genuine blow for freedom.”</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">When South Carolina secessionists called for a convention at Charleston in December 1860, Rock was certain the “clashing of arms” would soon be heard, and he rejoiced as the “glorious opportunity” emerged from secession.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">On Christmas Eve, the South Carolina Convention passed a Declaration of Causes for Secession.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">They stated that the Republican administration that would take helm of the government in March believed “a war must be waged against slavery until it shall cease throughout the United States.”</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Determined to keep their profitable domestic institution, South Carolina’s political leaders “declared the Union heretofore between this State and the other States of North America is dissolved.”</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Quickly the South Carolina state militia moved to seize the federal forts in and around Charleston Harbor. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">On the day after Christmas, Major Robert Anderson completed the transfer of his garrison from Fort Moultrie on the shoreline of Charleston Harbor to Fort Sumter in the harbor itself.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">South Carolina and other Southern states leaning toward secession responded to this movement of federal troops with outrage.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">President James Buchanan had promised that no such change in position would occur; thus, his Secretary of War John B. Floyd claimed that the move was against orders.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Floyd was a secessionist sympathizer; and in a cabinet meeting on December 28, 1860, he almost came to blows with Attorney General Edwin Stanton over more than just the movement of the federal garrison to Fort Sumter.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">The next day Floyd resigned under accusations that he had sought to arm the secessionists by transferring weapons to Southern arsenals.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Frederick Douglass wrote that Buchanan had fostered “the state of disorder” and lacked the “virtue… to enforce the laws against the slaveholding women-whipping rebels of Charleston.”</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Douglass opined that the President was bound by oath of office to use force to keep South Carolina in the Union; but, he argued, Buchanan had virtually invited the slaveholding states to secede.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Douglass stated that Lincoln would regard South Carolina “as one of the United States, and subject to the ‘Union, the Constitution and the laws.’”</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He also forecasted that the enslaved population of South Carolina would “prove the most serious check upon disunion.” Douglass viewed secession as an opportunity to end slavery while maintaining the supremacy of the Constitution and preserving the Union.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">As the New Year of 1861 approached, Americans of African descent, such as Rock and Douglass, rejoiced for two reasons 1) Abraham Lincoln was about to take helm of the government and 2) South Carolina had seceded.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">They believed that Lincoln’s mission was to free the slaves, that South Carolina had to be conquered if the Union was to be preserved, and that their help would be needed to save the Union.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Anxious young freedom fighters across the country waited to hear the “clashing of arms” and grew “wild with the enthusiasm caused by the dawn of the glorious opportunity” to strike for liberty.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">One hundred and fifty years ago today, Americans seeking to secure the blessings of liberty for the enslaved were indeed celebrating.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">It was like celebrating because you got into the sudden death championship game.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">It was time to celebrate getting the opportunity, but it quickly became time to practice, drill, study and focus.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">The rebellion was certain to become a war that if the defenders of the U. S. Constitution won, slavery would be abolished.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">The celebration corresponded with the New Year, and resolutions set the agenda for the year ahead.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Celebrate, commemorate, or protest?</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Protest ignorance by helping the uniformed become informed.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">With understanding, let us commemorate and celebrate the Sesquicentennial together as citizens of our indivisible Republic.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">We are commemorating important historical events and celebrating our nation’s “new birth of freedom.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2011/01/commemoration-celebration-or-protest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-3826386106787971379Sat, 04 Dec 2010 20:37:00 +00002010-12-04T15:44:47.228-05:00<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b> <!--StartFragment--> </b></p><b><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b>The following is a speech I delivered at Gettysburg National Cemetery on Dedication Day for the United States Colored Troops Gravesite Dedication on November 19, 2010: <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoHeader" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-variant:small-caps"><b>To Preserve the Union for Liberty</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b>The firm basis on which of our national identity was established was articulated in the Declaration of Independence: the Creator had endowed all men with certain unalienable rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thus the conviction in the minds of the people that liberty is a gift from God is the foundation of the house that is our nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Concerned that the foundation was comprised by slavery, Thomas Jefferson wrote: “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; and his justice cannot sleep forever.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This founding father, the author of the Declaration of Independence, a slaveholder, feared that the conflict over the disposition of new territories as either slave or free might lead to a civil war.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The house for which he had laid the foundation was divided, half slave and half free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If these United States were to remain united, if this Republic was to become a more perfect Union, if we the people were to ensure the domestic tranquility and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, then that peculiar American institution, slavery, had to be abolished.</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b>Today we come together to honor those who gave the full measure of their devotion to preserve this Union for Liberty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In April 1861, when open hostilities began in that civil war that Jefferson feared, men of African descent could not legally stand and fight as soldiers in defense of their country, in the defense of their rights as citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In July 1862, after what Secretary of State William Seward called “the greatest disasters of the war,” Congress changed the law because the assistance Americans of African descent was needed to be preserve the Union.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Nine days after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Militia Act of 1862 into law, James Molson, an Afro-Pennsylvanian, joined the 107<sup>th</sup> NY Volunteers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He fought with his American comrades of European descent at Antietam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>With his comrades in battle, he fought here at Gettysburg; and he gave his life to preserve the Union for liberty during Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Private Molson was like thousands of Americans who have willingly offered their lives that we might be a nation where all are indeed free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The soldier above all citizens is called upon to perform the most Christ-like duties, the soldier is called upon to sacrifice his life for others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Today we honor Americans who sacrificed to save the Union, and who sacrificed to secure what should be, what could be, liberty for all, oh liberty that precious gift from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b>On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln acting on the authority Congress had given him, with a practical military measure to preserve the Union, transformed the Civil War into a war for liberty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Armed with the Emancipation Proclamation, Americans of African descent helped save the Union while bringing about a new birth of freedom in our house, this nation, thus restoring the foundation, the firm conviction in the minds of the people that liberty is a gift from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b>As we go forth from these hollowed grounds, made hollowed by those who sacrificed that we might all be free, let us honor them by working to achieve in this house all that this nation can be, a land where liberty and justice are indeed for all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do not let their sacrifices be in vain!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>May their blood stain our memories, and their examples increase our faith that we might march on as faithful Americans dedicated to keeping this Republic one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.</b><span style="font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </b><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b><br /></b></p> <!--EndFragment-->http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2010/12/following-is-speech-i-delivered-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-9121524567197705842Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:40:00 +00002010-11-18T06:14:02.436-05:00Grand ReviewHarrisburgWilliam Howard DayAfter Liberty Was Secured<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">After Liberty Was Secured</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial,fantasy;"><b> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt;"><span style="font-family:Times;"> There was a Grand Review in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On November 14, 1865, African descent soldiers who had been on occupation duty in the South and who had been preparing to embark on ships for Texas during the Washington Grand Review (May 23 &amp; 24, 1865) marched through the streets of Harrisburg. The keynote was William Howard Day, who, said Major Martin Delany, had been “chosen to arrange the military policy of the under ground railroad relative to the slave enlistment.” The grand marshal of the Grand Review was Thomas Morris Chester, a war correspondent and native of Harrisburg. Chester wrote on the eve of the Washington Grand Review, “That the negro corps, under General Weitzel, has received marching orders is well known throughout their camps, and they are beginning to put on the war-paint with the impression that they are going to Texas. They look forward to the period of embarkation with a great deal of <i>satisfaction</i></span><span style="font-family:Times;"> [emphasis mine].” According to Chester, these soldiers did not feel slighted by Washington. They were excited about liberating Texas because these freedom fighters knew their work was not done.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt;"><span style="font-family:Times;"> In Harrisburg (November 4 – 7, 2010), the state of Pennsylvania celebrated the 145th anniversary of what has often been referred to as the Grand Review of United States Colored Troops. Kicking off the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War with such an event will hopefully excite an examination of African American participation in the Civil War that will explore formerly ignored facts. There are a number of questions we should ask in order to apprehend these facts. Such as what was the true magnitude of their contributions? How important were all their duties to the mission? Why did Benjamin Butler, Thomas Higginson, and Robert Shaw report that African descent soldiers were highly competent in drill soon after being enlisted? Did they have prior military training? If so, who trained them?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt;"><span style="font-family:Times;"> I think we can find the answers to these questions if we begin with the following questions: Why was William Howard Day the keynote speaker in Harrisburg? Why did Delany report that Day “was chosen to arrange the military policy of the under ground railroad relative to the slave enlistment”? Why was Thomas Morris Chester the grand marshal? And why did they select Harrisburg to host their grand review? The answers to these questions will lead to a greater understanding of African American activities before, during and after the Civil War. We are not yet close to appreciating the magnitude of their contributions because too many facts are being ignored and too many questions are being left unanswered. The result has been that a story of victims is being told instead of a story of victors. The Harrisburg Grand Review was really about a victory over tyranny achieved by enslaved and/or disenfranchised Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt;"><span style="font-family:Times;"> It is commonly believed that United States Colored Troops were slighted by not being included in the Washington Grand Review. Of course, the colored troops that were actually in the Washington parade did not feel slighted. I was quoted in the Harrisburg <span style="font-style: italic;">Patriot-News</span> as saying there were “colored regiments” that marched in the Washington Grand Review, but what I said was that there were “colored troops” that marched, not regiments. Over five hundred names of United States Colored Troops who marched in the Washington Grand Review can be found on the walls of the African American Civil War Memorial. If fact, a pioneer corps comprised of African Americans preceded every division in Sherman’s army in the Washington Grand Review. These African descent soldiers had experienced the hell of combat, marched hundreds of miles and laid hundreds of miles of railroad tracks. Like Seabees and combat engineers, they were important members of the overall military force that claimed a hard fought victory in the war. They marched proudly with their heads high along the avenue in Washington, and Captain Horace Porter reported, they were “conspicuous by their height.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt;"><span style="font-family:Times;"> General Phil Sheridan did not participate in the Washington Grand Review even though the rest of his command did. Sheridan was ordered to Texas to take command of the forces being deployed there. General Sheridan took his orders without complaint because as a soldier he understood that duty called. Men of African descent assigned to the Texas command were no less dignified in their acceptance of their soldierly duties. There was no time for parading in Washington while there was still liberating to be done.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt;"><span style="font-family:Times;"> As late as September 1865, Chaplain Garland White of the 28th US Colored Troops wrote from Texas: “Some silly-minded men talk sometimes about home, and I am here to quiet them by assuring them that all will come right in the end, at the same time feeling in my own heart that unless we are made equal before the law we have got no home.” The Grand Review of United States Colored Troops was organized by the Garnet League, which expressly sought equality before the law. In May 1865, surely Chaplain White and the members of such a league would have thought only the “silly-minded men” in their ranks wanted to march in Washington and go home, especially since Texas had not been returned to the Union, thus the enslaved there had not been liberated. Far from being “silly-minded,” African descent freedom fighters were eager to put on their war paint and embark on ships for Texas to complete the work of enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times;"><span style=""> </span>The following is the speech I delivered during the Harrisburg Grand Review (November 6, 2010) entitled “After Liberty Was Secured”:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times;"><i>While reflecting on the contradiction of slavery existing in a nation that claimed liberty as a gift from God as its foundation, Thomas Jefferson (a slaveholder) wrote: “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; and his justice cannot sleep forever.” In April 1861, the great houses of the South and the great houses of the North raised sword against sword. The firstborn sons of those great houses were taken in a bloody civil war. After suffering the greatest disasters of the war, Congress gave President Lincoln the authority to arm men of African descent and to declare free slaves in states in rebellion. And a cry for help was issued in the Emancipation Proclamation.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times;"><i>Men of African descent answered that cry for help. They captured Charleston, the Cradle of Secession, and one regiment that trained at Camp William Penn was a part of that liberating army [32nd USCT]. They captured Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, and one regiment that trained at Camp William Penn was a part of that liberating army [22nd USCT]. They stopped Robert E. Lee’s army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, and five regiments that trained at Camp William Penn were there to witness the surrender of Lee’s army to General Grant [8thUSCT, 41st USCT, 43rd USCT, 45th USCT, and 127th USCT].</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Times;"><i>And in the early morning of June 15, 1865, fleeing an army of United States Colored Troops, the Confederate governor of Texas, the last state in rebellion, crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico with Confederate Generals John Mcgruder and Kirby Smith as well as 10,000 Confederate soldiers. Six regiments that had been trained at Camp William Penn were there to occupy and return Texas to the Union, thus liberating the enslaved [8thUSCT, 22nd USCT, 41st USCT, 43rd USCT, 45th USCT, and 127th USCT].</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times;"><i>After liberty was secured and the last group of slaves freed by the Emancipation Proclamation was liberated, it was now time to celebrate. This was no consolation grand review. Thomas Morris Chester, a native son of Harrisburg, knew this was no consolation grand review. This is not the consolation prize. This is the prize. This is the celebration of victory and liberty for all!”</i></span><span style="font-family:Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </b></span>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2010/11/after-liberty-was-secured.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-3294104389914924930Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:56:00 +00002011-02-13T18:23:09.249-05:00Why Leading Scholars Make False Reports on USCT Service by Hari Jones<p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">One of the attractions of our museum is that we direct young scholars to primary sources. Teachers have changed the way they teach the Civil War as a result of the information they have received from our museum. The Delany Group Reading List has been of great benefit to educators and scholars across the country. Though false information and images promoted by the movie </span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">Glory</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> have proven market value, it is my opinion that the market will demand more accurate information in the near future. It is easy to demonstrate from primary sources that the work of leading academics have promoted information aligned with the movie in lieu of facts found in primary sources. The works of such scholars have proven market value. Some in the museum business believe that the truth must be compromised in order to attract visitors. But most are simply afraid to disagree with esteem scholars. </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Many of the false statements concerning the service of United States Colored Troops (USCT) are results of poor scholarship by leading scholars. Even in a 2008 John Hope Franklin edited work published by Howard University Press (</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">Legacy: Treasures in Black History</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">), we find obviously false statements. For example, the fatalities of the 54</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><sup><span style="font-size:78%;">th</span></sup></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Massachusetts at Fort Wagner on July 18, 1863 are reported to have been 281, which is eleven more than the regiment lost to disease and combat in two and half years of service. The regiment’s actual fatalities at Fort Wagner were 54. Since most academics support this false report, it is difficult in the current atmosphere to tell the truth. Thus, the truth is currently being suppressed. In order to make the grade, many young scholars are being compelled to ignore the truth and to iterate falsehoods.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Among these often iterated falsehoods are that 1) there were no African American officers in the United States Colored Troops, 2) the 54</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><sup><span style="font-size:78%;">th</span></sup></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Massachusetts was the first African American regiment in the Civil War, 3) African Americans were denied equal pay (some qualify this by stating that they were denied equal pay for most of the war), 4) President Lincoln did not intend to assign African Americans to combat duty, and 5) Sergeant William Carney was the first African American </span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">to receive</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> the Medal of Honor. All of these statements are false. Some require more complex explanations, but the truth can be discovered if one consults the primary sources.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">1)</span></span> <span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">There were over one hundred African American officers commissioned in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War. Their records can be found at the National Archives, and their names are on the Wall of Honor at the African American Civil War Memorial. In the first regiment of African descent mustered into the Union Army in 1862, all of the commissioned officers except for the regimental staff officers were men of African descent.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman',fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">2)</span></span> <span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Though the first regiment of African descent organized under the Union umbrella during the Civil War was the 1</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><sup><span style="font-size:78%;">st</span></sup></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> South Carolina Infantry, it was not officially mustered into federal service because General David Hunter had acted illegally when he organized the regiment in the spring of 1862. Thus, the regiment was disbanded that spring after a Congressional Inquiry. After Congress granted President Lincoln the authority to arm men of African descent, General Rufus Saxton was ordered by the War Department to reorganize the regiment on August 25, 1862. It was mustered into the Union Army in January 1863. The 1</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><sup><span style="font-size:78%;">st</span></sup></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Louisiana Native Guards organized in New Orleans under General Benjamin Butler became the first African descent regiment mustered into the Union Army in September 1862. The 54</span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><sup><span style="font-size:78%;">th</span></sup></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Massachusetts became the ninth regiment of African descent mustered into the Union Army in May 1863. </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman',fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">3)</span></span> <span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">In section 6 of the Militia Act of 1862, which gave President Lincoln the authority to arm men of African descent, Congress mandated that African descent men enlisted under that act be paid only $10.00 regular pay with $3.00 to be taken away for their uniforms. Privates of European descent received $13.50 at that time. When the Bureau of United States Colored Troops was established on May 22, 1863, this section of the Militia Act was interpreted to apply to all men of African descent regardless of rank or whether he was free or enslaved before enlistment. For one year African American enlisted men were denied equal pay, African American commissioned officers received equal pay. On June 15, 1864, President Lincoln signed legislation into law that awarded men of African descent equal pay and arrears. The soldiers who were free men prior of April 1861 were entitled to all of their back pay. Those who were enslaved prior to April 1861 received back pay starting on January 1, 1864. As result of this act of Congress, men of African descent were denied equal pay for only one year, and most received all of their back pay. Therefore, they were not denied equal pay for most of the war, and most who served were not denied equal pay at all. According to the Congressional records, the fact is that their heroism on the battlefield earned them equal pay.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman',fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">4)</span></span> <span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Scholars who state that Lincoln did not intend to arm men of African descent or assign them to combat duties often use paragraph six of the Emancipation Proclamation in which the President states that men of African descent will be assigned to “garrison forts” as their evidence. Edna Medford at Howard University has been known to advance this argument. It is important to note that to be assigned to garrison a fort in a combat zone is in fact combat duty. Since President Lincoln did not order his generals to remove African descent soldiers from combat zones, it is ridiculous to conclude that he did not intend to assign them to combat duty. When we combine this fact with the fact that all USCT regiments were combat arms regiments, the statement becomes even more ridiculous. </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman',fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">5)</span></span> <span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">Sergeant William Carney received the Medal of Honor on May 23, 1900. </span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">He was the fifty-first African American to receive the Medal of Honor</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">. The first African American </span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">to receive</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> the nation’s highest military honor was a sailor by the name of Robert Blake, who received the Medal of Honor in April 1864. Because Carney’s noteworthy act of courage happened before Blake’s, scholars intent on suppressing the truth have argued that Carney was the first </span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">to receive</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> the Medal of Honor even though Blake received his medal over thirty-six years before Carney. This justification of false information leads me to suspect that the poor scholarship of many historians is intentional.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the next five years as primary sources become more accessible to young scholars and curious readers, the poor scholarship of leading scholars will be exposed. Whenever a Civil War scholar states that the movie </span></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">Glory</span></i></span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> is accurate or “almost perfectly aligned with the historical evidence,” we can be certain that the scholar making the statement is either ignorant of the historical evidence or chooses to suppress the evidence in order to align his scholarship with what is most marketable. It is our intent to align our scholarship with the truth. We trust that the market will indeed value good scholarship in the near future. </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2010/06/why-leading-scholars-make-false-reports.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-6715772804361340740Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:13:00 +00002009-08-17T22:10:33.749-04:00Write Your CommentsTell us your comments!http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2009/08/write-your-comments.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-2938311966748618182Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:53:00 +00002009-07-28T14:57:13.728-04:00Presidntial WreathDo you think President Obama should not have sent a wreath to the Confederate Memorial?<br />Did he avoid controversy by sending a wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial?http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2009/07/presidntial-wreath.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-7582170493429426585Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:45:00 +00002009-07-11T14:48:11.347-04:00Tell us about your visitTell Us About Your Visithttp://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2009/07/tell-us-about-your-visit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263361136306958207.post-3620473623875668844Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:10:00 +00002008-06-16T17:25:07.766-04:00Buffalo Soldiers at the Memorial<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >Greetings,<br /><br />Check out the link below for photos of the Buffalo Soldiers event this past memorial day weekend. It sure was an inspired event.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9170526@N07/sets/72157605272531517/show" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><u><span style="color:#ff0000;">http://www.flickr.com/photos<wbr>/9170526@N07/sets/7215760527253<wbr>1517/show</span></u></a><u><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">/</span><br /><br /></span></u><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >A Special thanks to EDJ for providing the photos! </span>http://afroamcivilwar.blogspot.com/2008/06/buffalo-soldiers-at-memorial.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (African American Civil War Museum)0